


Jack

by iCheeseYou



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, High School AU, Love Triangles, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 64,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3216536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iCheeseYou/pseuds/iCheeseYou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke Hemmings is the quiet younger brother of Jack Hemmings, the most popular guy in school. The two brothers were super close and were pretty much inseparable. But when Luke tells Jack about his crush on Ashton Irwin, a boy in his grade, he doesn't expect his own brother to break the Bro Code. </p><p>© 2015 iCheeseYou</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Jack Hemmings is _not_ the same as the Jack Hemmings that we all know. He will be played by Marc Schulze.
> 
> Fetus Lashton will be used in this story, because this story's meant to be cute and fluffy. No smut whatsoever.
> 
> Based off the song by The Vamps (:

Luke peered out the living room window so his eyes were on the lawn. There, he saw his older brother, Jack, on his back and relaxing, one leg resting on top of the other while his arms were behind his head.

"Go tell your brother to come inside, Luke," Luke's mom, Liz, said.

"Okay!" Luke chirped, running from the window and towards the front door. His small fingers fumbled with the doorknob, trying to open the door, but the lock that was much too high for someone his height was locked in place, making Luke frown. "Mommy! The door's locked!"

"Oh, sorry," Liz apologized as she stepped out of the kitchen and went over to the door to unlock it for Luke. Once she opened up the door, Luke was quick to run out to the lawn where his favorite brother (who was his only brother) was.

"Jacky!" the small blond boy exclaimed as he ran over to Jack and then performed a somersault, his legs landing right on top of his brother's stomach.

Jack let out a sound of air escaping from his lungs as he sat upright, looking down at his giggling brother. He gave Luke a fond smile before he leaned closer to him and started tickling his sides.

"Sto-o-op!" Luke squealed, squirming away from his brother. He rolled onto his stomach and then stood up, Jack doing the same thing.

"Hey, Luke," Jack said, ruffling Luke's hair.

"Mommy said food's ready." Luke bounced on his toes, a wide smile plastered on his face.

Jack laughed, his finger poking at Luke's cheek where his younger brother's small dimple was located. "All right. Let's go eat then."

"Then after, can we tag? Please?"

"You shouldn't run after you've eaten, you know."

Luke pouted. "Why?"

"It's not good for your tummy." Jack poked Luke's stomach, making his brother giggle and take one step away. "We can relax instead. How's that sound?"

"Yay! Then we can play tag afterwards!" Luke reached for Jack's hand and began leading his brother inside the house.

Jack chuckled. "Sure, whatever you want."

-

After lunch, Liz took Luke and Jack to the park where the two ran around the play equipment playing tag. Right now Luke was the one running from his older brother.

"Try and catch me, Jacky!" Luke exclaimed, giggling as Jack ran right behind him.

"I'm gonna get ya!" the older Hemmings shouted, his hands stretched out before him as he tried to get to Luke.

"You can't get me-!"

Luke was cut off abruptly when his feet got caught on a raised platform, causing the boy to fall forward and land front first to the concrete ground.

Jack gasped behind him and hurried to his brother's side. "Are you okay?!"

Luke sniffled as he rolled onto his back, sitting upright and looking down at his knee. It wasn't a good day for Luke to wear shorts. "I have a booboo."

"Stay here, I'mma get mom." Jack rushed off and left a teary-eyed Luke sitting on the ground, staring down at the damaged skin. It was very big, but it was enough to make Luke's eyes water.

"Owie," the smaller Hemmings muttered, his small finger tracing the skin around the skinned area. He sniffed and wiped his eyes dried with the back of his hand. The pain wasn't something he was used to, so it was slightly unbearable for him. "Jacky! Mommy!"

When his brother and mom didn't arrive, Luke stared down at his ripped skin and complained to himself how much it was hurting.

A minute later, Jack was rushing back over to his younger brother's aide with a bandage in his possession while Liz was following behind him. Jack knelt down beside his brother and opened up the bandage.

"Mom said that this will help," Jack explained as he placed the bandage over Luke's skin. He gave him a gentle pat on the opposite knee.

Liz finally arrived to her sons and she saw Luke's tear stained face. "Aw, poor baby. Do you want to go home?"

Luke sniffled, but he shook his head. "I'm not done playing with Jack."

"Can you try to walk?"

He nodded and stood onto his feet before his hurt knee began to hurt again, making Luke crouch down into a ball as Jack wrapped his arms around his little brother.

Liz sighed. "We're going home. Come on, Lukey. I'll carry you."

"No, I got it," Jack said, stepping in front of Luke and lowering himself. Luke tried to climb onto his brother's back, but his knee was bothering him too much. In the end, Liz helped Luke onto Jack and the older Hemmings brother made sure that Luke was securely on his back, his own arms under Luke's legs.

"Ready to go?" Jack asked, glancing back at his brother.

Luke wiped at his face and nodded. "Mhm."

"Come on, boys," Liz said. "Let's go home. I'll make you some special dinner, okay?"

That was enough to make Luke smile wide and he cheered, wrapping his arms around Jack's neck, but not too tightly. Then the three started walking back home.

Luke was happy to have such an amazing family, especially having a brother like Jack. His brother was always there for him, and Luke couldn't be any more grateful for that. He looked up to his brother a lot, pretty much did whatever his brother did, because Jack was such an inspiration to him.

Luke loved Jack and thought that he was awesome. Luke had high confidence that there was no way his brother would ever let him down. Nothing Jack could do would ever make Luke dislike his brother, let alone hate him.

Absolutely nothing.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack Hemmings: http://bbs.kukupig.com/data/attachment/forum/201304/13/140738gdrlff4453kalfdl.jpg

Every day for the past nine years, Luke and Jack were practically glued at the hip. Luke still looked up to his older brother, even if he did surpass Jack's height by three inches. It didn't matter, height didn't mean anything to him. His brother will always be the greatest person to him.

Today Luke was starting his first day of high school. Jack was already in his third year of high school, so Luke had asked his older brother to give him a tour of the new school he was going to attend for the next four years.

Luke was seated at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal in front of him. He was waiting for his older brother to finish getting ready so the two could walk to school together. Jack already had his license, but he wasn't allowed to carry passengers just yet until a year has passed or when he turned eighteen, whichever came first.

The younger Hemmings ran his fingers through his hair as he took another spoonful of his Lucky Charms cereal. He only ate the scoops that contained some of the marshmallows. He liked the marshmallows way more than he liked the oat pieces.

Soon Jack was hurrying into the kitchen while still brushing his hair to the side. He went straight for the refrigerator and grabbed a container with butter inside. Then he went over to the table where the slices of bread were and he pulled one piece out. Then he went over to the drawer that had all the eating utensils inside and pulled out a butter knife.

Luke smiled at his brother whose mind was concentrated on getting his small breakfast set up. "Good morning, Jack!" the younger Hemmings said.

"Mornin', Luke," Jack said, looking over his shoulder and smiling back at his brother. "You ready for high school?"

Luke shifted in his seat, pushing aside his now marshmallow-less cereal. "Is it bad like they make it in the movies?"

Jack chuckled. "I don't think so, no. Then again, I'm pretty popular and everyone's practically my friend."

Luke nodded as he picked up his cereal bowl and slurped up the milk. He stood up from his spot and walked over to the trash can where he would dumb the oat pieces.

"Boys," Liz said as she entered the room, "it's already ten after seven. You might want to start walking now so you can find your classes and not have to worry about them when the time comes for you to go to them."

"Will do, mom," Jack said before placing his buttered bread between his teeth. He placed the knife in the sink and went over to Luke, patting him on the shoulder. "Let's go, little bro."

"But I'm taller than you now," Luke pointed out.

Jack laughed as he ruffled Luke's hair. "But you'll always be my baby brother."

"Have fun, you two!" Liz exclaimed as her two sons walked out the front door and started walking to school.

"Tell me what you know about high school," Luke said, looking at his short big brother.

"It's not all that bad, you know," Jack answered with a shrug. "Well, not to me anyway. I'm pretty popular in school, so no one messes with me. And I doubt anyone would mess with you, because you're my brother. If anyone does bother you, just come to me and I'll handle everything, all right?"

Luke frowned. "I don't want anyone to bother me."

"You don't need to worry about that. The people at school are generally nice. There's hardly anything bad happening there. The most drama that happens over there are just ones that involve love, but I don't think you need to worry about that, Luke."

The younger Hemmings nodded in understanding. He was glad to have Jack as his brother. He would show him the ropes through life and help him out whenever he needed it, and he couldn't have asked for anyone better, because there was no one better than Jack.

"Anyway, we have six classes a day," Jack continued, "some third and fourth year students have five since they've already completed their required classes in their first two or three years of high school. Each class period lasts for about fifty-five minutes and we have lunch for thirty minutes. Third period, however, has sixty-nine minutes due to announcements and SSR for the first fourteen minutes, which I think is kind of lame, but whatever. You also have seven minutes to get to your classes and we have all of our classes every day."

"What?" Luke pouted. "Why every day? Back in junior high, we were on block schedule."

"Yeah, well, this is high school, Luke. Things are a bit different and we go by the traditional schedule. Now, when we get there, we have to go to the front office to get our class schedules and we'll also find out our locker assignments. Once we get them, I'll show you where your classes are, okay?"

"All right."

The rest of the way, Luke was a bit nervous about his first day of high school. He's seen some movies about bullies in high school and being bullie was the last thing he wanted. He never got bullied in elementary or junior high, because everyone knew he was the brother of Jack Hemmings, one of the most respected and feared guys around. Luke didn't know anyone who even tried to mess with Jack, because no one had the guts to do so.

About five minutes later, the two brothers had finally arrived at the school. Luke gulped at our large it was. It was larger than his junior high school, and he was feeling sick in the stomach.

"You okay, bro?" Jack asked, placing a hand on Luke's back.

Luke nodded. "J-Just a bit nervous, that's all."

Jack smiled. "Don't be. Think of this as junior high, but with more students around and slightly more difficult classes that you have to attend every day. It isn't that bad, trust me."

Of course Luke trusted Jack. He always trusts Jack ever since he was little. Nothing the older Hemmings has ever done showed why Luke shouldn't trust him. If his brother said high school wasn't bad, then Luke believed him.

"Now, I must warn you about some things," Jack said, stepping in front of his taller younger brother. "Choose your friends wisely. I don't want you to grow up being a bad person, okay?"

Luke nodded and he felt more confidence in him as he walked around Jack to go inside the school building. However, he was pulled back by his brother who had one last warning for him.

"Also, don't get yourself distracted," Jack said sternly. "At all. There are some pretty hot guys here, and I don't want you to lose focus on school because you can't stop staring at guys, all right?"

The younger Hemmings nodded his head in understanding and then the two brothers walked into the school together, Jack's arm around Luke's shoulder (despite the younger brother being taller).

Jack knew that Luke was gay. In fact, he was the first person Luke told before the older Hemmings encouraged his little brother to tell his parents, who were very accepting towards Luke's sexuality. Luke thought he couldn't love his brother any more than he did before, but his brother's help to come out to his parents proved him wrong.

Luke and Jack went up to the front office where there were four tables set up. One table had a paper that said A to G, another table had H to M, the third had N to S, and the last had T to Z. There weren't a lot of students by the tables and Luke was grateful for that. He didn't like it when there were too many people around. After all, he didn't like being in a place where he could barely move around.

The next thing Luke knew, his brother had placed his hand on the small of his back as he led Luke to the second table.

"All you have to do is give your first and last name to them," Jack explained, "and they will give you your schedule. It will contain your locker assignment as well."

"So, what do we do about books?" Luke questioned.

"You'll get them some time this or next week with your classes."

The younger Hemmings nodded and the two stood in queue. Jack suggested that he went first, just so Luke could observe how it was done.

Luke was about to ask his older brother more questions, but Jack's attention was already taken by someone else, probably one of his friends. When the two started to chat, Luke felt completely forgotten. He let out a sigh and shook his head, the question leaving his mind.

"Hey, excuse me?" spoke a voice followed by a tap on the shoulder. Luke turned around and was met with hazel eyes. A boy stood before him and he was slightly shorter than Luke was. His hair was straightened out and it was like a really light brown, or dirty blond color.

The boy gave Luke a friendly smile as he said, "This is where we're getting our schedules, right?"

"Uh, I think so," Luke answered, looking up like the correct answer was on the ceiling.

"Great, thanks."

The taller of the two just nodded, turning back around and trying to ignore the chirpy boy. He decided to pull out his phone to prevent any awkwardness. Plus, he didn't exactly know what else he could do since his brother was pretty much preoccupied with chatting with his friend.

"I'm Ashton," greeted the boy behind Luke. "What's your name?"

The younger Hemmings turned his head to look over his shoulder and back at the boy whose smile was wider than before.

"Luke," he answered, not saying anything more as he turned back to look at his phone, but Ashton hopped in front of him.

"Are you a returning student or a freshman?"

Luke thought that Ashton was talking way too much. He also found it quite puzzling as to why this guy chose to talk to him. The taller of the two didn't feel the least bit comfortable with casually chatting with someone whom he had just met.

Plus, Luke wasn't the greatest when it came to interacting with his peers. His brother was the more social between the two, and he was the one that helped Luke gain some friends. However, those friends were Jack's and they hardly ever chatted with Luke unless Jack told them to. Luke was more like the little brother that tagged along with his big brother, but at least Jack didn't mind.

"Freshman," Luke answered, already wanting to pull out of the conversation. Jack had told Luke to make friends, but he also said that he shouldn't hang out with the wrong crowd. What if this Ashton guy was a part of the crowd Jack was talking about?

But from Ashton's bubbly personality that he was exposing, Luke had a feeling that maybe Ashton was the friend that he was looking for.

"Same!" Ashton exclaimed. "I think we're going to be great friends."

 _Just from being in the same year?_ Luke thought to himself.

"Um, why are you talking to me?" Luke decided to question. "Don't you have any other friends to hang out with?"

"Oh, I actually don't," the shorter boy said. "I just moved here to town over the summer and I haven't met anyone of the same year as I am. You're the first person I've ever encountered that fell in that category!" Ashton gave this really wide grin that Luke found quite adorable, the boy's dimples showing and a small giggle escaping his lips.

"Okay, Luke," the younger Hemmings heard his brother say. "It's time to get your schedule."

"Oh, who's that?" Ashton asked. "I love making friends! Especially with cute ones."

Jack glanced over at Ashton and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" he asked.

Luke was already getting secondhand embarrassment from Ashton's words. The boy didn't seem to have any sort of filter and even though the conversation that was happening now didn't affect him, it was making his cheeks grow red.

"Next!" shouted the lady at the table, making Luke snap back into reality and walk over to the table. "Name?"

"Um, Luke Hemmings," he answered. The lady just gave a nod and she started searching through the stack of papers for Luke's class schedule.

Once she had pulled it out, she handed it over to Luke who thanked her and then walked out of the line to where Jack was standing.

"All right, so you have your classes now," Jack said with a smile as he took Luke's schedule into his hand. "How about I go show you where they are?"

Luke nodded and the two were about to walk off before someone yelled out Luke's name.

The boy whose name was just called out turned around and saw Ashton practically skipping over to him. Once the shorter boy was right before Luke, he began to speak.

"Do you think you can help me find my classes, too?" Ashton questioned. "I mean, I'm a first year and I'm completely lost. The school doesn't provide a map and I'd be very grateful if you could help me out."

"I-I don't know where any of the classrooms are," Luke spoke honestly, but then he gestured over to his older brother. "My brother could help you, though. He knows where everything is and he's a third year here."

Ashton raised an eyebrow. "You two are brothers? You look nothing alike."

Jack simply chuckled lightly. "Not all siblings look the same. Anyway, I'll help you find your classes. Hand me your schedule."

The shorter boy did just that and Jack's eyes scanned over the schedule while Ashton kept his hands together, tugging his bottom lip in between his teeth. Luke just shifted from one foot to another as the silence took over.

Finally the older Hemmings spoke up. "Great, showing you two your classes will be much easier considering that you two have the same classes together. I'll give show you two where your classes are and then give you the grand tour of the school. How's that sound?"

The two freshmen nodded their heads, Ashton's nod being more eager than Luke's, and then the three were off, following Jack like two puppies.

-

"And that concludes your school tour!" Jack announced, sending Luke and Ashton a smile. "Any questions? Comments? Concerns?"

Neither Luke nor Ashton said a word and then the older Hemmings just nodded. "All right, so it looks like you have one friend now, Luke. I'll go find mine, okay? I hope you two enjoy your four years of high school."

Soon Jack left, leaving the freshmen alone to themselves. Luke glanced over at Ashton and saw the shorter boy smiling at him, and Luke found that slightly creepy.

"He called me your friend," Ashton said before he giggled. "Are we friends? You and I?"

"Um, sure?" Luke said awkwardly, his eyes looking anywhere but at Ashton.

"Yes! I made my first friend! My mom's going to be so proud of me!"

The taller boy just nodded awkwardly as Ashton practically skipped around him. Luke stopped Ashton from prancing around by placing his hands on the latter boy's shoulder.

"Are you always like this?" he asked.

"No. Just when I'm excited. Like, I really like school, because of all the people I get to meet. I enjoy being around people, and I certainly love to make friends."

Luke was starting to question whether Ashton was someone he wanted to hang around with. The boy was pretty much the complete opposite of him. Ashton loved to socialize and he always had this happy aura around him. Luke, on the other hand, only had that kind of thing whenever he was around Jack. He was most comfortable with Jack anyway, and Ashton was making him anything but comfortable.

"I'm famished," Ashton suddenly announced, looking down at his stomach before pulling his shirt up and showing off his skinny stomach.

Luke's face burned red as he yanked Ashton's shirt down, getting extremely embarrassed just from being around the boy.

"D-Don't do that again," he said.

"Why? My tummy was rumbling? If you press your ear to it, you can hear something like a monster is roaring inside." The shorter boy giggled before he skipped away. Luke stood where he was and then he saw Ashton returning to him. "Um, where's the cafeteria again?"

The taller blond sighed, and began leading Ashton to the cafeteria without him saying another word. Ashton, on the other hand, was blabbering nonsense, making things less quiet, but it was better than awkward silence.


	3. Chapter 2

On the first day of high school, Luke had considered switching out of his classes, because he was getting slightly annoyed by his new friend. Ashton wouldn't stop yapping about random stuff from left to right, and frankly Luke just wanted someone who wasn't as hyper as a squirrel.

The two were currently in line at the cafeteria, Luke casually looking at his phone while Ashton was blabbering about his old school.

"Oh! I've got another one!" the shorter boy began, making Luke mentally groan that he has to listen to another story. "There was this one kid--very disgusting guy, too--one time during an Algebra test, he kept sneezing over and over again and got snot and boogers on his test paper. What sucked even more was that he sat right behind me!"

"Ashton, can you not?" Luke almost yelled, but remained in his indoor voice. "It's lunch time right now."

"I know it's lunch time, Luke. I'm not stupid. That's why I get to talk to you about my old school without another teacher telling me to shut up."

The blond sighed, his turn to get his food finally arriving. He got himself some mashed potatoes covered with green beans on the side and Ashton got himself spaghetti, but he nearly dropped it when the lunch lady was passing it to him.

Luke chuckled when Ashton gave an embarrassed smile. Then the taller boy went to go pay for his lunch, but he had collided with someone, his lunch getting all over the person.

"Oh, my God!" the guy shouted, gaping down at his varsity jacket that had mashed potatoes and gravy splattered all over it.

Luke's jaw dropped and he stuttered out, "I am so sorry! I-It was an accident!"

"I'll make your hospital visit look like an accident!" the guy shouted as he grabbed a fistful of Luke's shirt and pulled him forward, his other hand forming into a fist. The blond winced and immediately shut his eyes as he prepared himself to get hit.

"Whoa, dude! Calm down!" Luke heard his brother tell the other guy, the younger Hemmings being super grateful that his hero had finally arrived. "It's okay, Cal. You can just get the jacket washed."

"I don't get out of school until five tonight!" the person whose name was apparently Cal shouted before pushing Luke away and gesturing over to him. "Who's this kid?"

Jack sighed. "Just leave him alone. You don't want to start another fight."

Cal glared at Luke who gulped nervously. He shook his head before grumbling to himself and storming off, going over to a table where a bunch of other people wearing varsity jackets were.

The older Hemmings grabbed his brother by the wrist and led him out of the cafeteria, leaving students talking about what just happened and Ashton alone.

Once the two were out in the hallway alone, Luke started to become frantic.

"J-Jacky, I didn't mean to get my food on him! I-I'm sorry!" Luke said as he felt panic fill him.

Jack tried to calm Luke by pulling his brother into a hug, patting the taller boy's back. "It's okay. It was an accident. You didn't mean any harm."

Luke's breathing had gone into an abnormal pattern, but he started to relax when his older brother was telling him that he had nothing to worry about.

"Try to stay out of any trouble, okay?" Jack said and Luke nodded. Then they both went back inside the cafeteria and Jack left to his table where Cal was fuming over his ruined varsity jacket.

"Do you want my lunch?"

Luke turned around and saw Ashton holding his plate of spaghetti out towards him.

"N-No, thanks," Luke said politely as he pushed the spaghetti back to Ashton. "It's your lunch. I can go back and get my own."

"But you'll have to go through the line again. Besides, I wasn't very hungry anyway."

The blond thought for a moment before he finally accepted Ashton's offer, thanking the shorter boy. Then the two went off to find a table to eat at--or at least for Luke to eat Ashton's lunch at since the talkative of the two gave him his lunch.

Maybe Ashton wasn't so bad after all, thought Luke. If he just learned to control what flies out of his mouth, then he and I could become great friends.

-

As weird as this may sound, Luke thought the only good thing about his first day of high school was becoming friends with Ashton. Somehow, the shorter boy convinced (or annoyed) Luke to letting him come over to his house. No matter how many times Luke had told him no, Ashton didn't seem to take that for an answer.

So now Luke, Jack, and Ashton were all walking towards the Hemmings household. Thankfully, none of the boys received any homework other than the usual 'Have your parents sign this syllabus and bring it back by Friday,' but that was the most they had to do.

When the three boys got to the house, Jack pulled out the house key, unlocking the door and letting all of them inside, Luke being the first to enter and Ashton following after.

"Wow," Ashton said in awe, "I like your home."

"Thanks," Luke awkwardly said, slipping his shoes off. He glanced at his brother as Jack closed the door and locked it behind him.

"Are my babies home?" Liz said as she came out of the den. She gasped. "And who might this cutie here be? I don't recall having more than two boys."

"Hi!" Ashton greeted as he waved. "I'm Ashton. Lovely home you have here. Also, you and your husband make very beautiful kids."

Luke slapped his forehead with his palm, shaking his head. He knew it was a bad idea to bring Ashton over. Why couldn't he just ditch Ashton back at school?

Liz chuckled. "I know, my babies are beautiful. So how was school for all of you?"

"Pretty great," Jack answered, sitting down on a nearby recliner. "I met up with all my friends that I haven't seen over the summer and Lukey here made a new friend, as you can see."

"And I wish he wasn't so embarrassing," Luke grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Liz said sternly.

"N-Nothing."

Ashton spoke up, "I'm friends with Jack, too. He helped me and Luke find our way around the school. Plus, he's good looking, so that's a bonus."

Jack laughed. "You're not so bad yourself."

Luke slowly and quietly inched away from the three that were talking and went towards his room. Thankfully, he left unnoticed by anyone, so he closed and locked his room door, dropped his backpack beside the bed, and sat down in his swivel chair by his laptop.

He opened up YouTube and opened up some songs by Marianas Trench and placed his headphones over his head. He plugged those in into the audio jack and let the music fill his ears.

The noises from everything else outside of Marianas Trench's song Haven't Had Enough were drowned out and he nodded his head to the music, closing his eyes.

As the song was coming to an end, he felt two hands slam down on his shoulders and Luke screamed and jumped up from his seat, flinging his headphones down and against the keyboard, somehow managing to hit a key that made the screen scroll towards the comments section. He quickly whipped his head to see who had entered his room.

"Ooh, Marianas Trench!" Ashton exclaimed as he moved the screen back to the video. "They're good! Have you ever heard of The Downtown Fiction? Listen to them."

"How the hell did you get in here?!" Luke shouted, feeling his racing heart beginning to slow down. "I locked the door!"

"I got in by sliding my ID card into the small space between the door and wall." He held up said card for Luke to see, but the blond smacked the card out of his hand. Ashton gasped. "Rude! That's the only school picture I look sexy in!"

"Have you ever heard of invasion of privacy?!" Luke snapped, sitting back down on his seat and groaning. "God, you scared me half to death."

"Well, maybe if your music wasn't so loud, you would've heard me come in here. I could hear your music from when I was standing behind you."

"You weren't supposed to come in here anyway. You're weird." Luke placed his headphones back on his head and decided to look up another song by Marianas Trench, but Ashton pushed his chair away, making Luke roll away from the computer as his headphones came out of the audio jack. "What the hell!"

"Listen to The Downtown Fiction!" Ashton exclaimed as he started typing away in the YouTube search. "Don't Count Me Out!"

"I'd rather not get involved with you."

Ashton glanced at Luke and laughed. "No, the song, silly Lucas! It's called Don't Count Me Out."

Luke moved back towards the computer as Ashton found the song and clicked a YouTube video, the song beginning to play.

He sat there quietly when the music started while Ashton was practically screaming out the lyrics while jumping around the room. His first thought about the band was that they weren't bad, but he preferred Marianas Trench more.

As the song came to an end, Luke exited the YouTube tab and looked over at Ashton, remembering to move his headphones to rest at his neck.

"Not bad," he commented. "They're okay."

"I like them!" Ashton exclaimed, sitting down on Luke's bed. "Well, them and many other types of artists. Some days I listen to Fall Out Boy or Mayday Parade, other days I listen to Justin Bieber or IM5. Have you heard of Anthem Lights? They're a Christian band, but they make pretty mean covers and songs. My favorite's Love You Like The Movies. Oh! Sometimes I listen to people sing on YouTube. I like Christina Grimmie and Sam Tsui. They made a cover of Just A Dream together and it's just awesome. I also like Kurt Schneider and I feel like he needs to sing more. His voice is just amazing! One time, I was listening to Kurt's cover of Right Here Waiting..."

Luke was just nodding the entire time, not really getting enough time to process every word flying out of Ashton's mouth. The guy was talking at five hundred miles per hour!

The blond turned away from Ashton as he chatted away. Luke somehow managed to tune him out by googling hot shirtless guys.

"... and sometimes I ship Kurt and Sam together, but they're not a very popular pair, but I don't care. They've been friends since forever and I think they're cute. Hey, Luke, whatcha lookin' at?" Ashton went back over to Luke and gasped, pointing at one of the hot guys. "Hey! That's Evan Parker!"

Luke raised an eyebrow at the wavy-haired boy. "Who?" he asked.

"Evan Parker! He's a gay porn star and works with this company that shoots gay porn called Helix Studios. He's so hot, good God. I'd let him fuck me any day."

The blond's eyes widened and he pushed himself away from Ashton as the boy rambled on about how he'd beg to suck this Evan guy's dick and would love to get rimmed by him. Luke kept his large eyes on Ashton as he stood up from his seat, walking backwards towards his door, his hand grabbing the knob and then he rushed out.

The first place he went to was Jack's room and he saw his brother was on the bed lying on his back, a book in his hands as his legs were crossed at the ankles.

Upon hearing the sound of his door closing, Jack glanced over at his little brother and grinned. "Hey, little bro. What's up?"

"He's nuts!" Luke shouted. "He's got no filter and now he's going on about how he'd let a guy do him!"

"Oh. Well, on the bright side, you now know that he's not homophobic."

"Ashton weirds me out. I don't understand how anyone can put up with him, because I hardly can."

"He's not bad, Luke. Sure, he talks a lot and just says whatever's on his mind, but I'm sure he means no harm."

"I know he doesn't mean any harm, but he just makes me very uncomfortable." Luke sighed. "I'm just going to ask him to leave, or kick him out if he refuses to cooperate." With that being said, Luke opened the door to head back to his room, but he didn't have to anymore.

Because standing right there was Ashton, and this time he wasn't smiling.

Well, shit.

"Y-You don't... like me?" the shorter boy asked, his voice cracking and lips quivering as tears formed at the corners of his eyes.

"I'll, um, give you two some alone time," Jack said hesitantly, squeezing his way past the two freshmen and going straight towards the kitchen.

Luke bit his lower lip as he said quietly, "Ashton, listen--"

"It would've hurt less if you just told me instead of talking about how you hate me behind my back."

Luke was trying to look for words to say so he wouldn't offend Ashton. "I don't hate you, okay? It's just--I'm not used to being around someone who's so talkative, and you say everything that you think of."

Ashton hung his head low and sniffled. "I-I just can't help but talk. If I don't, then I'll go crazy."

"You kind of already are." Ashton whimpered and Luke continued on, "But it's okay. I'll... I'll get used to it, okay? I'm sorry I said something that would offend you. You're not a bad person, as far as I know. Honest. Besides, you're my first friend that I've ever made since starting high school."

The shorter boy looked up at Luke's face and wiped the tears away with the back of his hand. He gave the blond a wide smile. "I'm your friend?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, you are. And nothing's going to change that."

With that being said, Ashton pulled Luke into a tight hug, catching the taller boy by surprise. A soft sniffle left him and he just had the widest smile on his face.

"I forgive you," he mumbled, although it was loud enough for Luke to hear.

Luke wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, the two just standing there in each other's embrace for a bit. "So, you like guys?"

Ashton drew away and nodded, somehow all sadness leaving him. "Yeah, they're so much better than girls, but that's just my opinion. I mean, girls are okay, but I prefer dicks over vaginas any day."

The blond chuckled. "That's a relief to hear, honestly."

"Why? Do you like it up the butt, too?"

Luke frowned at Ashton's diction. "To be quite frank, I like guys, too. I don't know whether I prefer giving or receiving, but I know that I'm gay."

"So we can be two gay best friends! I've never had a gay best friend before! This is awesome! We can talk about how hot guys are and just be fabulous together!"

"I could've sworn two minutes ago, you were all sad. You recover fast."

Ashton giggled. "It's because I have an awesome friend, not to mention one that's gay. Can we go back to your room and listen to more songs by The Downtown Fiction? I like them a lot and I want you to hear some of their songs."

Luke nodded and Ashton grabbed the blond's hand, leading him back to Luke's room.

Even though Ashton lacked any sort of filter, Luke was perfectly fine with it. It would take some time for him to get used to Ashton's strange yet slightly amusing personality. Despite the wavy-haired boy managing to give him secondhand embarrassment, at least he wasn't boring and would make Luke's high school experience fun.

Ashton's fine just the way he is, Luke thought. He and I will become great friends.


	4. Chapter 3

"Ashton, do you want to stay for dinner? We're having spaghetti tonight."

Upon hearing Ashton's name, Luke turned his head from the computer screen that were displaying lyrics to The Downtown Fiction's Santa Cruz. He briefly paused the video by hitting the space bar.

Then the smaller boy did the same, a wide smile on his face. "Would I! Yay, more time with Lukey!"

Luke laughed a bit at how excited Ashton was. He was just such a ball of sunshine, it was hard not to smile. Except when Ashton would talk about something that gave Luke secondhand embarrassment, but the blond was trying to get used to it. After all, he was going to be spending the next four years with this hyper kid.

When Luke's mom left the room, Ashton immediately continued the video, the song playing once again.

" _I don't want to waste my life away someday_!" the smaller boy sang, making Luke jump at how loud he was.

As Ashton went on with his singing, Luke relocated himself from his swivel chair to his bed, lying down and pulling out his phone. He saw from the corner of his eye the wavy-haired boy sit down on the chair.

Eventually the song ended and Ashton was typing away on the keyboard. Luke was turned on his side, randomly playing a game of NinJump.

Suddenly the song I Will Always Love You started playing and Luke quirked an eyebrow. This time Ashton wasn't singing, so Luke was able to hear Whitney Houston sing the song.

But when it got to the chorus, he felt Ashton jump right on top of him. Luke's blue eyes widened when Ashton's limbs were straddling him and he stared up at the smaller boy.

" _And I..._!" Ashton practically shouted, " _... will always love you_!"

"Ashton, get off!" Luke yelled, pushing the giggling boy from on top of him and made him roll onto his side beside Luke. "You scared me!"

The only response Ashton made was a laugh. "Luke is such a grouchy potato."

The blond frowned. "I am not. Just don't do that again." He stood up from the bed and walked over to his laptop, lowering the volume. "You're so loud, people in France can hear you."

"Well, you're so grouchy, you'd beat Oscar in a grouchy contest," Ashton said back.

Luke snapped his eyes towards Ashton who was now sitting upright and was hugging Luke's pillow while burying the bottom half of his face into it. "First of all, I am _not_ grouchy. Second, who is Oscar?"

Ashton gasped before jumping off of the bed and sprinting for Luke's laptop, pushing the blond aside. "Move!"

"What the--Hey!" Luke stumbled back and nearly lost his balance, but before he could fall to the ground a pair of arms were underneath his, catching him right before he could fall.

Luke glanced up and saw his brother behind him, smiling down at the younger Hemmings.

Ashton was once again seated in the swivel chair, turning Luke's laptop screen so it was facing Luke. He pointed at a green character and immediately exclaimed, "You're telling me you have no idea who this is?!"

"What?" Jack laughed. "Of course Luke knows who he is. He loves Sesame Street. He didn't stop watching it until he was nine."

"J-Jack!" Luke shouted, his cheeks tinting red as he stood up straighter. "W-Well, okay. I did love Sesame Street, but I didn't know that it was Oscar the Grouch he was talking about."

"Is Luke a grouch?" Ashton asked Jack. "I was singing earlier and then he pushed me."

"That was because you were on top of me!" Luke countered.

"Then next time you can be on top of me, if you know what I mean."

"What? No, ew! Why would you say that?!"

Ashton gasped. "Lucas, what are you thinking? Get your mind out of the gutter!"

Jack was laughing the entire time and Luke shot him a glare, but his older brother didn't stop his laughter.

"I'm leaving," Luke announced, stepping past his brother and leaving the two alone in his room. "Have fun, you two."

The blond went towards the kitchen and saw that his mom was finishing up making dinner. He stood behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder, looking down at the pasta.

His mom turned her head and smiled when seeing her youngest son. "Hi, honey. Dinner's almost ready."

"I can see that," Luke replied.

"Go tell your brother to help you set up the table."

Luke nodded and moved away, turning around only to gasp loudly when seeing Ashton standing way too close for his liking.

"Oh, can I help set the table, too?!" Ashton asked, bouncing on his toes.

"Uh, if you want?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. "But you don't have to, because you're a guest, so..."

"It's fine. I don't mind at all." So Ashton grabbed Luke's hand, lacing their fingers together and leading him towards where the items that were to be set onto the table were.

Within the first minute, Ashton had already dropped two plates. Liz laughed at Ashton's clumsiness and Luke couldn't be any more grateful that the plates were paper and not porcelain.

-

The entire dinner time, Ashton was sharing stories about his past, and most of them weirded Luke out. Liz and Jack didn't seem to mind, for they both had a fond look on their countenances. It appeared that only Luke got embarrassed whenever Ashton opened up his mouth to talk.

Luke had quickly finished his dinner so he didn't have to stay at the table any longer. He stood up from his spot, carried his plate into the trash bin, and rushed back for his room.

Once he got there, he decided to gather up his clothes so he could take a shower. So Luke went over to his dresser and pulled out basketball shorts along with a black muscle tee. When he closed the drawers, he turned and saw Ashton was lying down on his bed, hands tucked under his head and eyes closed.

"Ashton, no," Luke said, placing his clothes at the edge of the bed and walking over to the wavy-haired boy. "You can't sleep here. That's my bed."

"I'm not asleep," Ashton said, but his voice was soft and he sounded tired--completely different from his usual hyper self from what Luke had gotten used to.

"I thought you were eating dinner. You had a lot on your plate."

Ashton nodded. "But then you left and I didn't want to be without you."

 _Not even a full day yet, and he's already being clingy_ , Luke thought. "I need to go shower. You want to watch TV afterwards?"

"Mhm," Ashton hummed. "Anything with Lukey is fine."

A small smile went onto Luke's face before he brushed his fingers through Ashton's hair, walking back to his clothes to pick them up, and heading over to the bathroom to shower.

-

Ashton and Luke were on the couch with the TV turned on to some kids movie. Somewhere in the middle, the smaller boy had fallen asleep with his face pressed against Luke's thigh, his mouth agape while his tongue was nearly sticking out. Luke was still watching the movie while Ashton was snoring.

Around twenty minutes after Ashton passed out, Jack came into the room the two freshmen were in and Luke glanced over at his brother. He noticed the wavy-haired boy's sleeping state and chuckled to himself.

"Tired already, isn't he?" he said. "I wouldn't be surprised since he seems to be a very energetic guy."

"Yeah," Luke said, glancing down at a snoring Ashton. He noticed some drool forming at the side of the smaller boy's mouth, making the blond frown since it was about to touch his jeans. "Maybe he should go home."

"You want to wake him up now?"

Luke thought for a moment. Should he wake Ashton up and risk dealing with him being hyper again instead of being peacefully quiet for once?

Within a minute, Jack was holding onto Ashton's legs while Luke's arms were hooked underneath the sleeping boy's.

"We're going to carry him to my room, okay?" Luke said and Jack nodded. After counting to three, the two Hemmings brothers took Ashton all of the way to Luke's bedroom.

Once they successfully got the wavy-haired boy in Luke's bed, the taller Hemmings pulled the covers over Ashton, and then Ashton curled up a bit.

"Shouldn't he call his parents or something?" Jack asked. "I mean, wouldn't they be worried about him?"

"Right," Luke said with a nod. He gently shook Ashton's arm. "Ash, wake up."

Ashton grumbled, turning onto his side so his back was facing Luke. The blond frowned, shaking the smaller boy once more.

"Come on. You don't want your parents to be worried about you, do you?"

Suddenly Ashton's eyes snapped open and he gasped as he shot up, his forehead bumping Luke's. The smaller boy didn't seem the least bit dazed by the fact that he and Luke just clonked heads, but Luke had stumbled backwards and was clutching where he was hit.

"I gotta go!" Ashton shouted, jumping out of the bed and rushing towards his backpack that was sitting on the ground. He slung it over his shoulder and ran over to Luke. "Bye, Lukey! See you tomorrow!" He gave the blond a very quick hug before rushing out of the room.

Jack glanced out the door at first before looking down at his brother who was still in pain. He chuckled, shaking his head before excusing himself to go open the front door for Ashton. Then he left and Luke was left alone in his room with a very painful throbbing from where Ashton's forehead hit him.

Luke felt like he was most likely going to get a bruise on his forehead, thanks to Ashton.

-

The next day, Luke and Jack were walking next to one another towards the school, the taller of the two being more tired than usual.

"What kept you up all night?" Jack questioned, but Luke shook his head.

"Nothing," Luke said with a yawn following after. "I just feel tired for some reason."

"Maybe Ashton's energy was so strong, it took some of yours and he'll probably be even more hyper today than he was yesterday."

Luke's eyes widened and he looked over at his brother. "Please, no. If he gets any crazier, I might go mad myself."

"Chill, little bro. I was joking. But even if he did get a bit more energetic, would you still be friends with him?"

The younger Hemmings shrugged. "I don't know. I guess so? I don't want to know what super hyper Ashton is like though."

Jack chuckled and then the two were approaching school grounds. From there, Jack excused himself from his little brother and went over to his group of friends, one of them being the guy that Luke dumped his lunch all over.

Cal glared in Luke's direction, shaking his head at him. Then he along with the rest of the group walked off. Luke gulped and he hoped that he didn't just earn himself someone to bully him for the rest of the year.

"Hi, Lukey!" exclaimed a voice, causing the blond to jump and twist himself around to see Ashton.

"Jesus, you scared me!" Luke said, clapping a hand over his racing heart.

The shorter boy frowned. "I'm not this Jesus that you speak of. I'm Ashton, thank you very much. So, did you get your syllabi signed?"

The blond blinked at first before he gasped, smacking his other hand at his forehead that indeed bruise a bit from last night. "Crap! I forgot! Great, there goes the easiest ten points in history."

Ashton hopped behind Luke, unzipped his backpack and pulled out Luke's binder. The taller of the two raised a questioning brow at the wavy-haired boy, seeing him open the folder to see the unsigned syllabi.

He pulled them out, handing the binder to Luke. "Hold that up, will ya? Thanks, Lukey."

Luke was confused when Ashton placed the papers on top of the binder. The smaller boy pulled a pen from out of his pocket (why he had one in there, he had no idea) and starting writing.

The blond gasped when he realized what Ashton was doing. "You're _forging_?! Ash, you can't do that! I'll get in trouble!" 

Ashton continued on to the next paper as he said, "You'll be fine. I do this with anything that I get that needs to be signed by a parent and I've never got caught."

"Why don't you just get your parents to sign it?"

"They wouldn't do it anyway."

That answer didn't seem enough for Luke, but he decided not to say anything more about it.

After a while, Ashton finally smiled and capped his pen. "There! That's the last of them!" he said proudly. "Now you get all of your points in your classes!"

"Um, thanks..." Luke said, looking down at his papers before stuffing them into his binder. "It wasn't necessary for you to do that though. Um, could you put the binder back in my backpack, please?"

Ashton nodded, taking Luke's binder and going back behind him to place it back from where he had taken it out. After that was finished, he zipped up Luke's backpack and the two headed off for the cafeteria to get some breakfast to eat.

"What should I get for breakfast? Biscuit or pizza?" Ashton asked. "I'm in a biscuit mood, but I'm also in a pizza mood. Oh, and what drink should I get? Apple juice or chocolate milk? Or maybe I could get myself some orange juice."

"Get pizza," Luke said, "and get chocolate milk."

The wavy-haired boy grinned up at Luke. "Good choice, good choice!" He skipped over to the line and Luke followed behind him. "Oh, I also have to head over to my locker to get some stuff for our first class. And can I come back over to your place today? Please?" Ashton turned himself around and looked up at the blond boy with pleading eyes, like it would make Luke give in.

It somehow did, making Luke merely smile at him. "Maybe," he said, glancing behind Ashton. "Move up. You're next."

Ashton turned himself around and went up to the counter. "Can you get me a bagel?"

"You're getting pizza," Luke reminded.

"Pizza. I totally said pizza." He looked back at Luke. "Why did you tell me bagel? Don't confuse me, Lucas."

Luke shook his head, laughing to himself as Ashton got his breakfast and paid for it. Luke stepped out of line and then Ashton walked over to him, the two heading back out to the hallway filled with lockers so Ashton could get his stuff.

During their walk, Ashton was talking about how a girl once had an ant crawling on her face and then Ashton saved her life by smacking the ant on her face, only to get punched by the girl as she huffed and stormed off.

As the smaller boy went on about random stuff that happened in his past, Luke was only listening a little bit, nodding once in a while and laughing when he thought he felt necessary.

Why was he hardly paying attention to any of Ashton's stories?

Because, although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was too busy admiring Ashton's features to focus on anything else.


	5. Chapter 4

It was lunch time and instead of eating in the cafeteria, Luke and Ashton decided to spend their lunch hour on the grass nearby a tree. Luke's back was pressed against the said tree, his legs extending outwards and crossed at the ankles. Ashton was resting his head on Luke's lap, his eyes gazing skywards.

Luke had gotten himself a ham sandwich and was eating the last bite while Ashton was starting another one of his weird yet interesting stories.

"When I was five years old, this nice man came up to me and told me he had candy," Ashton said. "I asked if he had my favorite kind of candy and then he said that he did. So then I followed him to his car, but as we were crossing the road, an oncoming car was driving by super fast and hit him. I was going to call Triple Zero, but I didn't know the number at that time. I still don't know it. What is it?"

The blond raised an eyebrow. "You don't know the number to Triple Zero?" he asked, grinning a bit. "It's literally just three zeros."

"Oh." Ashton looked over at smiled at Luke. "Oops. I guess that was kind of obvious. If I knew that back then, I think the nice candy guy would still be alive."

Luke's eyes widened. "H-He died?"

Ashton shrugged. "I think so. I haven't seen him since. I never got my candy either." The hazel-eyed boy pouted. "I was looking forwards to eating some Maltesers."

"You do realize that he could be a pedophile, right? He most likely didn't have any candy for you. You should've just kneed him in the crotch and ran off home."

"Why would I need his crotch? I wanted candy, not some guy's sausage."

"Oh, my God." Luke slapped a hand over his face. He finished the rest of his lunch before setting the trash onto the grass, planning to throw his trash away later. "I meant hit him in between the legs with your knee. You shouldn't even trust strangers so easily."

"But people are so nice," Ashton said. "No stranger has ever offered me candy."

"That's because those strangers aren't interested in abducting minors."

"So... I was never going to get my Maltesers in the first place?"

Luke shook his head. "Sorry, but you were most likely going to get locked up in a basement if that guy didn't get hit by a car."

Ashton immediately sat upright, facing Luke with a disappointed look on his face.

"B-But Maltesers are my favorite candy," Ashton mumbled, his bottom lip quivering the slightest bit.

"How 'bout this?" Luke said, patting the spot beside him so Ashton could sit there. Once the smaller boy moved closer to Luke, the blond continued, "I'll take you out after school to buy some. I think there's a candy store nearby that has Maltesers."

From hearing that, the smaller boy beamed up at Luke. "You mean that?" he asked with excitement.

Luke nodded. "Yeah. I'll ask my brother if it's fine if he goes home alone so I can take you to buy your candy."

Ashton's smile grew wider at this and then he threw his arms around Luke, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Thank you, Lukey!"

The blond laughed a bit before wrapping one arm around Ashton's waist. "No problem."

-

"No, you cannot go."

"Jacky, please?" Luke said when he met up with Jack in front of the school. Ashton went off to use the restroom, excited that Luke was going to buy him Maltesers. But if Jack didn't agree to let the two go buy the candy, then Ashton's happiness would be over nothing. "I'm just going to buy Maltesers and that's it."

"You have a dentist appointment at four thirty," he reminded, "and you're going to go out to buy candy now?"

"Please?" The younger Hemmings began to pout, giving Jack his best puppy eyes. "Pretty please with a puffy penguin on top?"

Jack shook his head, averting his eyes from his brother. "Don't do that. It was cuter when you were younger and did that."

Luke just kept on pouting, even making small whimpers.

"I refuse to give in."

"Please? I'll be back home before the dentist appointment. I promise."

Jack peeked over, biting his bottom lip upon seeing his brother's large blue eyes. It was always the pleading face Luke made that always had Jack giving in to the younger's wishes.

Unable to resist his brother's pout, Jack sighed. "Fine. But I'll have to come along to make sure you don't stay longer than you promised."

Luke's lips turned into a smile as he nodded his head eagerly, throwing his arms around his older brother. "Thank you, Jacky!"

Jack rolled his eyes, ruffling Luke's hair and making the younger of the two giggle.

Not long after, Ashton skipped over to the Hemmings brothers, bouncing on his toes and asking, "Ready to go, Lukey?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, and Jack's coming with us as well."

"Really?" He beamed as his hazel eyes glanced over at Jack who nodded.

"Luke has a dentist appointment, so I'm only coming along to make sure he makes it back home before we leave," the oldest explained.

"Oh, then what are we waiting for? Time waits for no one! Let's go and get me some chocolate balls!" Ashton grabbed Luke's and Jack's wrists and began leading them out of the school and down the sidewalk.

"... Ashton," Luke spoke up, "the candy store's the other way."

"Right. I knew that!" the shorter freshman said, giggling before he turned around, his grip still on the Hemmings brothers.

-

Instead of going straight to the candy shop, something else caught Ashton's attention as he ran into the shop to go check out what had now captured his interest.

It was evident to Luke that his brother was getting impatient with Ashton. If he didn't hurry up and buy the Maltesers like they initially planned on getting, then Luke was going to miss his dentist appointment. Of course, Luke didn't even want to go, so he mentally told Ashton to take as long as he wanted.

Jack let out a sigh, whipping out his phone to check the time.

"It's already three thirty," Jack informed his younger brother before looking up. "It'll take us about half an hour to get home, you know."

"We've got plenty of time," Luke reassured. "We'll make it."

"Luke, Jack!" the other freshman called out, earning the Hemmings brothers' attention. "Look what I got!"

The two brothers glanced at each other before walking over to where Ashton was, in his two hands were four Silly Bandz.

"You got three animals and a fruit," Jack said, tilting his head to the side before he looked at Ashton in confusion. "Why?"

Ashton held up the first one. "Well, I chose this rabbit, because I like magic and rabbits."

He placed that around his wrist before moving on to the next one. "I got a pineapple, because I like pineapples."

Then he picked up the third. "I got a dolphin, because I like dolphins. Oh! Did you know that dolphins, much like humans, have sex for pleasure? One time I went to visit dolphins and I was standing really close to the edge of a dock and then this dolphin came up out of the water and then started to hump me in between the legs. I'm not attracted to dolphins in that kind of way, but I can't say that I did not enjoy it."

"Oh, my God," Luke muttered to himself, facepalming himself and turning away from the embarrassing boy.

"What's with the rooster?" Jack asked, pointing at the the fourth and last one.

"Hm? Oh, that. I picked the rooster, because I'm gay and I love—"

"Never mind!" the younger Hemmings interrupted, going behind Ashton and leading him towards the candy store. "Let's get your Maltesers already!"

"Yay, Maltesers!" Ashton threw his hands up skywards and all three of them entered the candy shop, searching the aisles for the chocolate candy.

Once they gotten three boxes of Maltesers (Ashton claimed the servings weren't large enough), the smaller boy had stored his candy boxes in his backpack and then they were all heading towards the Hemmings household. Ashton had somehow ended up chatting with Jack the entire way back about his Maltesers story that he had told Luke at lunch.

Speaking of Luke, he trailed behind the two, watching his new (and strange) friend conversing with his brother. He couldn't help but feel slightly envious that he wasn't a part of their chat, but he was also grateful that Ashton wasn't telling him about about his abnormal adventures as a young child.

They all had reached back to the Hemmings's place around four fifteen, leaving just about enough time for Luke to prepare to head on over to his dentist appointment.

"Um, this may seem like a strange request to ask," Ashton says, "but can I join you guys?"

Luke couldn't help but wonder: Of all the times Ashton could've labeled something strange, it was that?

"Sure," Jack answered. "I'll need someone to keep me company while Luke gets his teeth cleaned."

That only made Luke frown, because Ashton was going with them to the dentist. He didn't understand why the smaller boy felt the need to spend every single second with him and his older brother, but he didn't want to say it aloud. At least someone actually wanted to hang out with him.

-

As Luke was getting his teeth checked and cleaned, he could practically hear Jack and Ashton talking and laughing in the waiting room. He always liked it when his older brother laughed, but Ashton's was incredible to listen to.

He never took time to actually listen to what it sounded like, and he was glad that he finally did. It was one of the cutest laughs ever to Luke, and he wouldn't mind hearing more of it.

He wasn't funny or interesting, like his brother, but Luke wanted to at least try to make Ashton laugh himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when a sensitive spot in his mouth was pressed down on by the dental equipment the dentist was using, and the blond's eyes snapped shut as he groaned in discomfort.

"You okay?" asked his dentist.

Luke gave him a thumbs up and the dentist nodded, returning to whatever he was doing before.

Ashton's laughter sounded again and Luke's attention turned to that. His open mouth curved upwards and he couldn't help but lightly chuckle as well. He was thankful that his dentist didn't ask him why he had some sort of fond look on his face.

After a few minutes, Luke was finally done and was currently rinsing his mouth out. Once he finished, he walked out into the waiting room, and the first thing he saw made him stop in his tracks.

Jack had his shirt pulled up to show off his abdominal muscles and Ashton was feeling them.

"He has such nice abs!" Ashton said with a wide smile as he glanced over at Luke. "Have you felt them? Feel them!"

The blond freshman raised an eyebrow before looking over at his older brother who shrugged.

"I stood up and was stretching my arms upwards," Jack explained. "The next thing I knew, his hands were on me."

"Okay..." Luke turned away from them and saw his dentist handing him a form to fill out for his next appointment in six months. He quickly filled it out while trying to drown out Ashton's compliments of Jack's body.

When he finished, Luke didn't even turn back to his friend or his brother. He immediately walked out of the place and left them behind.

"Just when I thought he couldn't get weirder," Luke grumbled to himself, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "he starts touching my brother."

When he saw the sight of Ashton and Jack when he walked in that room, he felt some sort of anger bubble into him. And he had an idea on what it could be.

He didn't like how close Ashton was to his brother. Luke grew up with Jack. Ashton didn't. Jack is Luke's older brother. Not Ashton's.

Ashton was beginning to steal his one and only brother away, and Luke didn't like that one bit.

"Luke, wait up!"

Upon hearing his name, the blond stopped walking and turned around, seeing Jack running towards him and Ashton following behind, losing more breath than the older Hemmings was.

Once the two had caught up, Jack smiled at his younger brother while Ashton was trying to regain his breathing.

"You weren't really planning on leaving us there, were you?" Jack questioned, his grin never leaving his face.

"I wanted to go home," Luke simply stated. "You two were too busy touching each other to leave."

"Hey, in my defense, he wanted to feel my abs."

"But they looked so hot!" Ashton protested. "Wait!" Suddenly he went jumped right in front of Luke and slid his hands underneath his shirt and moved them upwards.

A gasp sounded from Luke and his entire face grew red from the sudden action. He smacked the smaller boy's hands away, smoothing out his shirt and glaring at him.

"Can you not do that?!" he snapped. "That's crossing the line!"

"Your abs aren't noticeable like Jack's are," Ashton said as his eyes were still fixed on Luke's body, completely ignoring the blond's anger.

Luke felt the need to strangle something. He didn't want to hurt his brother, because he loves him too much. Ashton seemed too fragile to him to murder, so he settled on squeezing his own neck.

"Luke, stop!" Jack shouted, moving past Ashton and prying Luke's hands off of himself. He threw his arms around his taller little brother and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Don't do that again, okay?"

Ashton just seemed a bit confused as to what was going on. He tilted his head to the side and asked, "Why did you try to choke yourself? Isn't that dangerous?"

 _That's the point, smart one_ , Luke wanted to snap, but he held back his anger.

"I had a muscle spasm," he said instead. "Let's just—Let's just go home already."

The smaller boy beamed. "Great. We can work on homework together—"

"No, Ash. You go home."

Suddenly Ashton's expression changed within a milisecond. "Wh-What?"

"I said, leave. I'll see you tomorrow."

"But I—"

"Bye. Come on, Jacky." Luke grabbed a hold of his brother by the wrist and dragged him away from the other freshman, not even giving a look back. He felt bad for just leaving him like that, but he didn't want to bring himself to look back.

However, Jack did and he saw Ashton and how his eyes were fixed on the ground. He bit on his bottom lip when the smaller boy wiped the back of his arm over his eyes, turned in another direction, and walked off with his head hanging low.


	6. Chapter 5

"Jacky, we ran out of milk!" Luke called out when he saw that there was no more milk inside the refrigerator.

"Why do you want milk?" Jack questioned.

"I want to eat cookies, but I can't without milk."

"Just go to the 7-Eleven nearby and buy more," Jack answered, his eyes never leaving the book in his hands.

The taller blond frowned, closing the refrigerator door and going over to where his brother lay on the couch, his feet propped up on the armrest and his head on the other one. "Can't you go for me? Please?"

"I'm in the middle of a good part, Luke." Jack briefly glanced at his brother before turning his eyes back to the open book. "My wallet's on top of my drawer. Just go yourself."

Luke knelt down beside his brother, his hands on Jack's shoulder. "At least go with me? It's too dark out."

"It's not like you're afraid of the dark or anything."

"But what if something bad happens to me? Who will be the one to save me?"

Jack sighed, reaching for the bookmark on his stomach before placing it in between the pages.

"Don't pull that on me again," the older Hemmings said, sending a glare at Luke who was smiling widely. Jack hurried towards his room and was soon back with a thin burgundy zip-up jacket on him, a black and white flannel jacket for Luke, and a ten dollar in his hand. He handed the flannel to his brother and said, "Let's go, Lucifer."

"That's Lukey to you," Luke huffed, slipping on the jacket. Jack shook his head, a smile forming on his lips as he ruffled his brother's hair. Then the two left the house, making sure the door was locked before heading towards 7-Eleven.

Jack and Luke chatted about anything that came to mind as they headed for the convenience store. There was never any silence that would fall upon them, because they always had something to talk about. The two were comfortable enough to share anything that they thought about.

Except there was something that Luke didn't bother bringing up, and that was Ashton. He talked about anything but the smaller boy. It wasn't because he had nothing good to say about him, but more like he felt like talking about Ashton was sharing him with his brother. Oddly enough, Luke didn't exactly want his brother and Ashton to be friends. He realized that when he saw the two in the waiting room back at the dentist's place.

But who was Luke to say whom his brother could and could not be friends with? Jack had his life and Luke had his own. Plus, Jack treated Ashton so much better than Luke did. Perhaps the older Hemmings was a much better friend than the younger Hemmings would ever be.

While Luke was in the middle of talking about a random topic, his foot caught onto something, making him scream and fall forwards and land face first against the ground.

He groaned, flipping himself over and wincing when he felt the palm of his right hand hurting. He briefly glanced down at it and saw that it was scraped. Then his eyes went towards what he had tripped over, seeing it was a backpack.

"Someone lost their backpack," Jack said, picking up the item. "I don't want to look inside, but maybe if I do we'll be able to find some sort of identification so we can return this to its rightful owner?"

Luke stood up, his left hand wrapping around his right wrist. "Just leave it be. Maybe the person will come back for it."

"Um, I don't think the person is going to come back for it."

The taller blond raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think that?"

Jack pointed behind his brother and Luke turned around, seeing a body lying down on the concrete.

The two brothers took a step closer to the body to inspect whether the person was okay or not, but Luke's eyes widened when he recognized who it was.

"Shit," he muttered as he knelt down by Ashton, touching his bare arm and feeling that it was cold. He slipped off his brother's jacket that he was wearing and placed it over the smaller boy, pulling him into his arms.

When Luke looked at his face, he noticed that Ashton's eyes were closed, lips parted the slightest bit, and his face looked paler than usual. Luke wondered how long Ashton had been like this, but he was more worried about getting the boy someplace warm.

He scooped up the shorter boy into his arms and glanced back at his brother. "Jack, forget the milk," he said. "We need to go back home and get Ashton warm."

Jack nodded, slinging the backpack over his shoulders. Then the two Hemmings brothers turned on their heels and went straight back home, Luke silently praying Ashton will be fine.

-

Luke lay in his bed with Ashton sleeping on top of him and two layers of blankets covering their bodies. He had one arm protectively wrapped around Ashton while his hand from his other arm was combing Ashton's hair.

The smaller boy's arms were on either side of Luke and the side of his face was pressed against the taller boy's chest, the top of his head tickling the underside of Luke's chin. Ashton was beginning to warm up, but his skin still felt as cold as ice.

Upon hearing a knock at his door, Luke glanced up and saw his brother walk in, holding a cup of a hot drink.

"I made some Milo for you," Jack said.

The younger blond nodded, running his ringers through Ashton's hair. It was more disheveled than it was before.

"Leave it on my desk," Luke told his brother. "I'll drink it later."

"Drink some of it now before it gets cold."

Luke tugged at his bottom lip with his teeth before he rolled Ashton off of him, standing up and walking over to his brother and taking the Milo from his hold.

He thanked him and was about to take a sip before he heard some whimpering noise behind him.

Luke whipped his head around and saw Ashton curling into a ball and a look of discomfort twisting onto his face. He quickly pushed the Milo back towards his brother and ignored his hiss as he hurried over to Ashton, kneeling down and brushing his thumb against the boy's cheek.

"It's okay," he whispered in hopes to calm Ashton. "I'm here now."

And as if he heard him, Ashton's whimpers died down.

"Luke," Jack groaned, "you spilled some Milo onto my arm."

Luke glanced back at his brother and seeing Jack grimace down at his left arm that was starting to turn red.

"S-Sorry," he apologized. "I kind of started to worry about Ashton."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Kind of?" He shook his head. "It's fine. I'll go get this treated before it gets any worse." Then Jack set the cup down on top of the computer desk and then walked out of the room, leaving his younger brother alone with his friend.

The blond climbed back into the bed, lying down next to Ashton and pulling the smaller boy into his arms. Ashton instantly snuggled against him, and Luke couldn't help but think how adorable that was.

After a while, Luke sensed Ashton's body rise and fall, but in a shaky way. Then he guessed that perhaps the smaller boy was now awake.

"You awake?" he questioned. In response, he got a small nod from Ashton. "How are you feeling, Ash?"

"B-Better now, Luke," Ashton mumbled.

Luke grinned. "Is that so? Are you warm?"

"Yeah."

"Do you feel sick?"

"No."

"So you're better enough to go home?"

Ashton nodded. "But can I stay just for the night? I don't want to go home yet."

The taller boy thought for a moment before nodding his head. "Sure. Whatever you want."

From the response, the corners of Ashton's lips tugged upwards and then the smaller boy nuzzled his face into the crook of Luke's neck. "Thank you."

Luke smiled, tightening his hold on Ashton. "You're welcome."

-

Ashton and Luke were now currently sitting upright on the bed, munching on the Maltesers that they had bought earlier at the candy shop. The two were seated close to one another, shoulders and thighs touching. Luke had the box of Maltesers in his hand and he and Ashton were taking pieces of the candy from it.

They were both being hugged by a large and furry blanket, Ashton pretty much leaning his head on Luke's shoulder.

No awkward silence was in between the two boys. In fact, Luke was explaining to Ashton how he and Jack happened to find the smaller boy lying down on the sidewalk, passed out with no one around to help him.

In a way, Luke was glad that no one else found Ashton before he did, because he didn't trust anyone else, and he didn't want to lose the only friend he had in the new school they both attended.

"So what happened to you?" Luke asked. "Why were you passed out where Jack and I found you?"

Ashton thought for a moment, probably trying to remember what had happened.

"I, um, I was just really tired and had a really bad headache, too," he began, eating a Malteser ball.

"What caused the headache?"

"Being dizzy, I guess."

Luke nodded, accepting the answer as he took a Malteser and ate it. "I'm glad you're okay now."

"I am, too." He let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm still kind of tired."

The blond glanced at the digital clock in his room. "It's pretty late. You should probably go take a quick shower first before you crash or anything." He stood up and walked over to his dresser, opening it up and pulling out boxer shorts and a large T-shirt. Then he walked over to Ashton. "You can borrow these for the night and I'll give you some clothes to wear for school tomorrow."

When the smaller boy took hold of the clothes Luke extended out towards him, he looked down at them and then smiled up at Luke.

"Thank you, Lukey," Ashton said, standing up and giving the taller boy a quick hug before he exited the room and went towards the bathroom.

Luke sat down on the bed before he lay down on it, his ankles crossing. He folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths once in a while.

Then he remembered the Milo that his brother made for him. It was most likely cold now, no doubt. So he went over to where the forgotten cup was, gulping down the no-longer-hot beverage, and then went back to lie down on the bed. He decided that he would brush his teeth when Ashton was finished with his shower.

Approximately twenty minutes passed and Luke heard his door being opened. He peeked one eye to see what was going on, seeing Ashton with wet hair that was sticking to his forehead and only in his T-shirt and boxers on.

"Thanks for letting me use your shower, Lukey," the smaller boy said, sitting down on the edge of the bed before lying down next to the blond.

"It's not that big of a deal," Luke said, shrugging. "What are friends for, right?"

Ashton couldn't help but smile. "I'm glad we're friends, and I'm glad to have someone like you as a friend." He snuggled into Luke's side, emitting a sigh. "Good night."

"... Your hair's wet. Go dry it."

"Mm, too lazy."

"Nope, nope." Luke sat upright and climbed over Ashton so he could get off his bed. He grabbed a hold of the groaning smaller boy's wrists and pulled him up. "Stop being such a lazy butt and dry your hair."

"I'm tired, Lukey," Ashton protested.

Luke sighed. "I'll, um, dry your hair for you. Now, come on." Without waiting for a response, he scooped Ashton into his arms and carried him out of the room, taking him over to the bathroom where the hair dryer was kept. He set Ashton onto his feet and the smaller boy lazily leaned over the counter as Luke plugged the dryer into the outlet, proceeding to make Ashton's hair dry.

It took about fifteen minutes to finish drying the smaller boy's hair, and by that time Ashton was already dozing off. Once Luke shut off the dryer, Ashton had his arms wrapped around the blond, his head resting on Luke's shoulder and his face pressed into the taller boy's neck.

"Let's get you to a bed," Luke spoke silently, not wanting to disrupt Ashton. The smaller boy merely hummed in response and Luke, once again, picked him up and took him back to his room where he lay the small boy down.

Ashton instantly curled into himself, bringing his knees up to his chest as half of his face was buried in the fluffy pillow.

Luke couldn't sleep yet though. He had yet to shower. But he did lie down next to Ashton until he was sure the smaller boy was peacefully asleep.

Once Ashton was finally in a sleeping state, the blond got out of bed and moved Ashton's fringe out of his face.

"Good night, Ash," he whispered, nearly tempted to kiss the boy's honey-colored hair. Instead he left the bed, collected his pajamas, and went towards the exit, glancing one last time at Ashton who looked so quiet and peaceful.

That was, until a loud snore sounded from the smaller boy.

Luke just smiled in amusement, shaking his head before leaving for the bathroom to take a shower.


	7. Chapter 6

It had been a week since Luke and Jack found Ashton lying on the sidewalk unconscious. Luke grew more protective over the smaller boy, making sure he was safe and okay. Every day after school, he would let Ashton come over to his place just so he could keep an eye on the boy. The smaller boy would always leave for home before nine, and whenever the blond freshman offered to walk him home, Ashton always turned down his offer.

With each day that went by, they both got closer and closer to one another, and soon the taller of the two had pretty much become immune to Ashton's embarrassment. Instead of his face turning tomato red like the first time they met, he'd just give the shorter boy a fond smile as he chuckled.

Not only was Luke close to Ashton, but Jack was as well. Of course, Luke wouldn't admit aloud that he wanted to be the one who was Ashton's friend, so he stayed silent. He had no reason to tell his older brother to back off. Besides, why would he do that? Jack has been nothing but a great brother to him.

It was a Saturday and Luke and Ashton were cuddled on the large couch, a large blanket wrapped around the two while their eyes were fixed on the TV before them. The smaller boy had his head rested on top of Luke's shoulder and Luke's head was on top of Ashton's. Once Upon A Time was playing, and the two honestly chose to watch it out of boredom, but somehow the show managed to capture their interests.

The previous night, Ashton stayed over at Luke's, because he ended up falling asleep on Luke's bed, and the taller boy couldn't bring himself to wake the sleeping freshman. In the end, he changed into more comfortable attire and slept on the couch and woke up to Ashton sleeping on top of him.

Ashton opened his mouth and yawned, closing his eyes a bit as he snuggled his cheek against Luke's shirt. The blond looked down at him and brushed the smaller boy's fringe out of his eyes.

"Tired?" Luke asked, earning a nod from Ashton. "It's only eleven in the morning."

"I know, but still," he mumbled, lifting his head up the slightest bit so their eyes met. "I'm kind of hungry, too."

"Jack will be back with food later, so we can eat then." Luke reached for the remote control and turned the TV off. He lazily tossed it back onto the table, wincing at the loud sound. "Do you just want to rest?"

"Mhm." The smaller boy leaned away from Luke, taking the blanket and draping it on top of his shoulders. He glanced at Luke and motioned for him to lie down.

Luke went to protest, "But I'm not slee—"

"Shh," Ashton said, bringing a finger up to Luke's lips to silence him. "Just let it happen and lie down."

The blond merely shook his head, laughing to himself as he did as told. Once he was on his back, Ashton climbed on top of him and practically plopped himself on top of the taller boy, an 'oof' sound escaping Luke.

Ashton readjusted the blanket so that way it was covering both of them up to their shoulders. He pushed his hands underneath Luke and then looked at Luke. Their noses brushed together and the two remained that way until Luke realized what position they were in.

He quickly turned his head away, face coating with blush. "G-Go sleep," he stuttered. Why his face turned red, he didn't know, nor did he know why he even stuttered. It was just Ashton—his friend since the beginning of high school.

Again, the smaller boy yawned and nodded his head before he started to drift to sleep. His face was buried in the crook of Luke's neck and his lips were parted the smallest bit. Luke wasn't tired—even if he was, he wouldn't have been able to sleep.

Probably a few minutes later, he heard the front door open along with some grunting, like someone was struggling to get the door to open.

"Luke!" the blond freshman heard his brother call out. "Could you help me carry something?"

But the younger Hemmings didn't do anything. In fact, he didn't respond. He didn't want to wake up Ashton, even though he just dozed off to sleep not too long ago.

He never moved one bit, despite his older brother continuously calling for him. He was a bit surprised that Ashton didn't wake up yet from how loud Jack was, and he was about ready to snap at his brother to shut the hell up.

"Damn it, Luke!" Jack finally groaned, practically dropping four bags that he was carrying onto the ground while still holding a cup carrier with three drinks in it. "What was so important that you couldn't—"

"Shush! Ashton's asleep!" the younger boy hissed, gesturing to Ashton who was snoring.

Jack then looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh, whoops. My bad. I didn't know."

"It's fine. What did you even buy that made you need my assistance?"

"Food from Macca's. And a watermelon. I don't know, I was craving watermelon. Anyway, wake him up. Food has arrived."

Luke rolled his eyes, letting them look down at the sleeping Ashton on top of him. He lightly shook him and said, "Wake up, Ash. Time to eat some food."

The only response he got from Ashton was a grumble before the smaller boy slightly moved a bit. Then he was still again and was back to snoring.

"Come on. Wake up."

"I'll just take the stuff to the kitchen," Jack said as he picked up the bags and walked towards the kitchen, leaving the watermelon behind.

In all honesty, Luke didn't want to wake Ashton up. The boy was just way too peaceful, and he would have felt bad disturbing his sleep. But he did say that he was hungry. Plus, he could sleep any time he wanted to. He just needed to take a break from sleep.

Again, Luke shook the smaller boy, earning a groan as Ashton raised himself from Luke's body and rubbed at his eyes groggily. The smaller boy's eyes seemed to be concentrated on something else and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Is that a watermelon I see?" he asked.

"Jack wanted it," Luke explained.

"Oh. I want watermelon, too." Ashton moved from Luke's chest and sat upright, but the blond's eyes widened at the new position the shorter boy changed to. Ashton had his legs on either side of Luke, and his bum was pressing against Luke's crotch. The taller boy was certainly not getting hard over this—especially when Ashton began moving around to get off. Not at all.

"U-Um," the blond began, trying his best to shift out from underneath Ashton, but it was only making his problem worse.

"Hehe," the shorter boy giggled, a sly smirk on his face. "My booty is on top of your dick."

Luke bit his bottom lip. "A-Ash, could you get off?"

"Somebody's getting hard." Ashton laughed, and Luke sharply gasped when the boy on top of him started moving his hips back and forth.

Ashton feigned a moan and would do so every once in a while, and those pleasurable sounds would be followed by short giggles. He had his hands on Luke's chest, his hips still in motion.

The blond's eyes were snapped shut, breathing erratic as he suppressed moans from leaving him. His hands were trying to grip the seat of the couch, but he couldn't get a hold of anything.

He ended up placing them on Ashton's shoulders as he shouted, "Knock it off!" Luke roughly shoved Ashton off of him until the boy on top of him was finally off and on the other side of the couch, back pressed against the arm. Luke quickly scrambled onto his feet and rushed towards the door, kicking the watermelon on his way out and cursing to himself as he left.

Ashton was weird, it wasn't a mystery to Luke, but what he did back there was completely uncalled for. It made Luke feel uncomfortable, yet at the same time good. But he shouldn't be feeling that way—he didn't even think he was old enough to even experience such pleasure.

The taller freshman ended up in his room, slamming his door shut and leaning his back against it. He was still trying to catch his breath, hand over his chest as his blue eyes stared up at the ceiling. After a minute of panting, he slid downwards to the ground.

Luke's eyes glanced down in between his legs, seeing the hard-on Ashton successfully made. He was so embarrassed from what happened a few minutes ago, even though it wasn't his fault. Ashton, for some odd reason, thought it'd be a great idea to rub his bum against Luke's crotch. To Luke, that idea was anything but good. It was horrendous, he thought to himself.

However, his little buddy in his sweatpants liked to disagree with Luke. The hard-on wouldn't go away, no matter how many times Luke was telling himself that what Ashton did was weird. He didn't feel like leaving his room to take a cold shower, so that meant the only option he had left was—

The blond gulped, slowly moving his hands southbound. His fingertips reached the waistband of his sweatpants, but he immediately retracted his hand, balling it into a fist.

Luke closed his eyes. "No, I'm not gonna do it," he whispered to himself. "I won't do that... thing."

He already felt dirty for being hard-he would feel even dirtier if he actually tried to relieve it. It was just his thinking, and he wasn't going to get himself off. Not any time soon.

But the throbbing in his sweatpants grew as time slowly went by. His eyes looked around the room, like he was making sure no one was around (of course, no one's around. He's alone in his room) before he let out a shaky breath. Was he really going to do this?

"... I-I can't believe I'm gonna do this," Luke grumbled, uncurling his fingers and placing his hand over his stomach.

He didn't like to think that he was getting himself off, so he tried to pretend that his hand belonged to someone else. Strangely enough, he couldn't think of anyone but Ashton, but he was okay with that.

Again, he let it trail down to the waistband, stopping there to have an intake of air before letting it out. Then he slowly pushed the tips of his fingers underneath the layers of clothes below his waist.

But he didn't get very far before his door was pushed open, making Luke withdraw his hand and jump to his feet.

"Oh, there you are," Jack said, a smile forming on his lips. "It's time to eat, you know."

"Y-Yeah..." Luke awkwardly said, shifting from his left to right foot.

The older Hemmings was about to leave, but turned back to Luke. "By the way, remember to wash your hands before you eat. You never know what your hands might've touched."

The taller of the two chuckled nervously, bringing his hands behind his back as he followed his brother to the kitchen.

Luke went towards the sink first to clean his hands that _almost_ touched his area down there. Thankfully, he didn't feel the need to continue with that, because when his brother nearly walked in on him, all the blood rushed up to his face.

Laughter sounded behind him and the blond glanced back, seeing Ashton leaning against the counter with his head resting in his hands as Jack was talking about some story Luke has heard before. It wasn't anything to laugh at. What's so funny about Luke accidentally hitting a pigeon with a tennis ball?

"The pigeon lived," the older Hemmings said, "so you don't have to worry about it."

"Why do you have to share that story?" Luke asked in an annoyed tone. "Can't you find another story to talk about?"

Jack thought for a moment before he nodded. "One time, some random kid pulled down Luke's swim shorts while he was in the water."

"Jack!" Luke glared at his brother, trying to tell him to stop telling Ashton such embarrassing stories of him.

"That happened to me last year!" Ashton chirped. "Except no one pulled them down. Mine somehow slipped off of me, and I didn't realize it until I got out of the water and some girls my age were screaming about eye virginity."

As Luke went to the counter and sat down in one of the stools, his face flushed red, but it wasn't because of secondhand embarrassment. It was more like he couldn't get the mental image of a naked Ashton out of his head. He needed to stop being so perverted—he's too young for this.

"That sucks," Jack said, laughing and shaking his head.

"You know what else sucks?" Ashton raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Luke and I. We suck more than a vacuum."

"Oh, my God," Luke groaned, slapping his forehead. He motioned towards the unfinished food that was near the shorter freshman. "Eat your damn food."

Ashton bit his bottom lip. "Actually, I already finished mine. That's your food. I just ate some of it."

The blond freshman blinked. "What the hell? Why would you—"

"Eat one of my chicken nuggets, Luke," Jack said, passing the box of chicken pieces towards his younger brother. "I want to save some room in my stomach for watermelon."

"Oh, yeah!" Ashton hopped away from the counter and exited the kitchen, shouting 'watermelon!' countless times before it all stopped suddenly and a loud thud followed.

The Hemmings brothers couldn't help but laugh, because their idiot friend slipped and fell.

When his laughter subsided, Jack informed Luke, "Mom's coming home late tonight. She left some money in her room for us in case we want to go out and buy anything for dinner."

Luke nodded as he began eating his food that Ashton took two bites out of. He glanced over the direction of where the grunting noises were coming from, and he saw Ashton carrying the watermelon in his arms.

"We shall devour this beast!" he exclaimed. "Unlike a streetlight, we go at red and stop at green!"

"What?" Jack tilted his head to the side, but then his lips made a circle shape and he slowly nodded, taking yet another piece of chicken nugget and eating that.

Ashton nearly dropped the large fruit while carrying it towards the counter, and Luke was simply watching all of this happen as he ate his food, smiling whenever he found something that Ashton did adorable.

Jack pushed aside the box that now only had one chicken nugget in it and walked over to where the knives were. Ashton sneakily stole a nugget and ate that, and Luke didn't say anything, because the way Ashton only had his fingers holding the piece of meat and was nibbling at the food was so cute to him. Ashton's big hazel eyes would glance around the room and then sometimes meet Luke's blue ones, the latter boy madly blushing before averting his gaze and eating his food to avoid any uncomfortable tension.

And maybe Luke was starting to realize that he was feeling things towards his strange friend, but it could be nothing, really. It was probably just a phase where one person was seeing their friend in a different light, but it wasn't exactly a crush or anything. All of this would blow over, Luke thought; eventually, these weird feelings will go away and he will once again see Ashton as nothing but his friend.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Malum are in the picture below.

Monday came by too quickly. Luke had spent a majority of his weekend with Ashton. The only time the two weren't together was when Ashton was at home in between the hours of nine at night to ten in the morning. Luke's parents were more than happy to let Ashton hang out with their youngest son, and Luke was surprised that Ashton's parents were cool with it as well. He just had a curfew, that was all.

But Ashton didn't show up to school. Luke was standing by his locker, looking around for the smaller boy. He even turned his older brother away just so he could be with Ashton. However, when Ashton didn't make his appearance after the first bell for the students to head to class rang, Luke sighed and decided that he did enough waiting. He opened up his locker, pulled out the items he needed for his Maths class, and then went on his way to first period.

He began to think of why Ashton didn't show up at his locker this morning. Maybe he was sick? No, he was feeling perfectly fine over the weekend. Unless he just suddenly fell ill when he got home. Or maybe he overslept and was going to show up during school hours. It did seem like something Ashton would do, from how much Luke knew of the boy.

As he entered the classroom, Luke sat down at his desk and kept glancing at the door, hoping Ashton would walk through. But when the late bell sounded, he turned his attention to the front of the classroom.

Everyone but Luke was all talking until the teacher, Mr. Gomez, finally stood up from his spot at his desk.

"Good morning, everyone," he greeted and then he gestured behind him towards the screen. "The daily warm up's on the board. Get to work and we'll start on our lesson for today."

Luke began pulling out his Maths notebook, but he was temporarily distracted when an obnoxiously loud yawn was heard right behind him. He turned his head and saw a guy with his feet kicked up on top of the desk, arms folded across his chest. The blond took notice of the guy's features, seeing that the guy had dirty blond hair. He had a fringe that was styled to the left side and he was wearing a black short-sleeved leather jacket, a band tee, black skinny jeans, and completely black high tops.

The boy's eyes met Luke's, and he gave him this glare that was pretty much daring him to keep on looking. Luke didn't recognize him, so he assumed he was probably a student who transferred into the class. The blond shook his head, turning himself back around and looking at the front of the class, scribbling down the problems and trying to remember the steps on how to solve them.

Unfortunately, Luke couldn't seem to concentrate, because the boy behind him was chewing gum and making loud popping sounds whenever he blew bubbles. He looked over at the teacher who was sitting at his desk, and he looked as if he was glaring in Luke's direction. Luke was sure that Mr. Gomez was looking at the kid behind Luke.

After a few minutes passed, Mr. Gomez stood up from his spot and walked to the front of the classroom. He asked for students to solve the problems, but no one raised their hand.

Then the teacher's eyes were glancing in Luke's direction and the blond gulped, sinking into his seat. He didn't get anywhere with the warm up, and he really didn't want to go up to the front of the class and embarrass himself if he did get the problem wrong.

"Mr. Clifford," said Mr. Gomez and Luke glanced behind him to see the guy groan and roll his eyes, "would you like to solve the first problem?"

"Uh, no?" the guy said, raising his eyebrow. "Go pick a smart ass who's willing to solve the problem."

"Well, I'm telling you to work out the warm up."

"Mr. Goomba, was it? You asked me would I like to solve it, and my answer is no." The guy behind Luke slammed one foot against the ground before resting the other on top of the knee. He slouched into his seat and ran his fingers through his hair so his fringe was temporarily out of his face.

Mr. Gomez's face seemed to grow redder as every second went by. "I will not tolerate this attitude of yours this early in the morning."

"You don't have to," snapped the student. "Bother another student and I'll shut up. Everything was perfectly fine before you called me out."

Luke turned back around in his seat and bit his bottom lip, eyes looking down at his notebook that only contained the problems of the warm up. The other students in the class were snickering, obviously amused by the conversation the guy was having with the Maths teacher.

"Are you asking for a detention?" Mr. Gomez was raising his voice at this point, completely fed up with the dark-haired boy's behavior.

"Are you deaf or what?" scoffed the boy. "I said, pick on someone else. You talking to me is only wasting class time, Mr. Gummy bear."

"That is it! I refuse to deal with you any longer!" The teacher pointed his index at the door. "March your way down to the principal's office right now and tell him exactly what you did!"

The boy with dirty blond hair laughed. "At least I get to see an adult whose appearance is more pleasing to the eyes."

Luke's jaw dropped and he brought a hand over his face to cover his open mouth. The entire class let out a chorus of 'ooh's and even Mr. Gomez was gaping at the student's response as the teen stood from his spot, threw his backpack over his shoulder, and walked towards the door. He pushed the door open, but not before he turned around to face the class and raised two middle fingers to the sky. Then he walked out backwards and was on his way to the principal's office.

All of the students were chattering about what just happened while Luke was still shocked by what had just happened. Of all the years Luke had been in school, he had never witnessed a teacher and a student getting into an argument as big as that one. Sure, he's been in a class where a conversation between a student and a teacher was amusing the entire class, but the student was never sent up to the principal's office.

The boy who sat behind Luke, for some reason, intrigued the blond. So far, Luke only had one friend at this school, and that friend wasn't even in class (and was also annoying, but at least Luke could deal with him now without wanting to strangle him). Luke needed to make more friends, and he planned on making this Clifford guy one of them.

-

Luke found out that the guy was named Michael after the teacher was ranting on about how much of a nuisance he was. Michael never came back to class after being sent to the office, Mr. Gomez was pissed off the rest of the class period, and Luke just felt like the rest of the day was going to suck. Michael's attitude might have been uncalled for, but the teacher shouldn't have let some student's behavior affect his work. Well, it didn't matter now. Luke was just more than happy that first hour was finally over, but now he had a bunch of problems assigned for Maths. At least today's lesson wasn't too difficult.

It was now the middle of lunch time and Luke was just leaving the cafeteria to go to his locker, but then he spotted the Michael guy with hands stuffed in his pockets and an upset look on his face. It looked more like he was pouting than scowling though, Luke thought to himself. In a way, Michael looked intimidating, but if Luke took a closer look, the guy didn't seem so bad.

When Michael stomped past Luke, the blond hurried behind him and made sure he was being as quietly as possible. He followed Michael all the way down the hall until he stopped right in front of a locker. Luke noticed that Michael was much taller than he was, but only by a little bit.

"Stupid Gumball," Michael grumbled as he opened his locker. "Doesn't know when to stop bothering me."

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't bring himself to develop any words. When Michael shut his locker, the shorter boy finally gained enough courage to say something, but instead only let out a grunt when Michael took a step back and his bag hit Luke.

Michael turned himself around and looked at the shorter boy before him. He raised an eyebrow and asked rudely, "Do you need something, kid?"

"Oh, hi," Luke said, feeling nervous in the taller boy's presence. "I'm Luke."

"Cool." The boy with dirty blond hair was about to walk off, but was unable to get anywhere, because the strap of his backpack was caught in his locker. He groaned. "What the shit." He aggressively started pulling at it, placing the bottom of his shoe against the locker to get it out.

"D-Do you need help?" Luke questioned.

"Buzz off, Luke. I got this."

"Maybe if you open the locker--"

"Don't got time for that."

"Uh, okay." Instead of leaving, Luke positioned two of his hands around the strap and began to help Michael tug it out of the locker.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Michael shouted. "Let me do this!"

"Stop being a rude butt and let me help!"

"I don't need help from some weirdo--"

But before Michael could finish, the strap of his backpack was finally free from the locker's hold and the two boys were sent backwards, Luke landing on the ground back first and Michael ending on top of him.

Somehow they were facing each other and Michael had his limbs on either side of Luke. Their faces were way too close for either one of their liking, and surprised gazes were exchanged between the two

"Whoops," Luke mumbled and he sheepishly smiled. Michael's expression changed to a glare and then he was pushing himself off of the blond to stand up.

"What's your deal?!" the taller boy shouted as he brushed himself off. "Jeez, just get away from me."

Luke finally got off the ground and Michael was turning away, but then he bumped into another person and he was about ready to snap at them until he saw who it was.

"Ew, it's Calum," Michael grumbled, stepping away from the guy.

"Causing more trouble again, Mikey?" the brunet questioned, crossing his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow.

Michael snorted. "Me? Cause more trouble? I was trying to get rid of this kid next to me."

"I wanted to make friends," Luke said as he gestured towards Michael. "He was being a rude butt."

Calum shook his head, sighing. "Typical Mikey, showing your unnecessarily mean side to everyone. By the way, I heard about your trip to the principal's office." He started walking closer to Michael, making the other boy back up against the locker. The brunet pressed his arm against the space above Michael's head. "Care to explain?"

Michael said as he shrugged, "All I did was talk back at the teacher."

"Let me guess: You got detention, didn't you?"

"I'd rather be stuck in a boring classroom for the next two hours and thirty minutes than go home and see your stupid face."

"I've got practice for two hours, numb nuts. So now we have to go home together."

"Not unless I avoid you, fart face."

As Calum and Michael continued to yell at each other, Luke spotted his brother making his way over to the group. The younger Hemmings went over to Jack, mainly because he didn't know what else to do and being near his older brother made him feel more comfortable.

"Jacky, what's going on?" Luke asked.

Jack sighed as he said to his brother, "This is normal. They always yell nonsense at each other. So what happened to Ashton?"

"He's out today. So what's these two's relation with one another?"

"Stepbrothers. Cal's dad married Mikey's mom a year ago, and these two have been stuck with each other since. Even though they seem like their relationship is weak, they love each other."

"You're so fucking annoying!" Michael shouted. "I hate you!"

"Like I give a damn! Now grow up and stop being a brat!" Calum snapped. "You're in high school, for fuck's sake!"

Jack was silent for a moment before he hesitantly said, "Well, they at least don't hate each other enough to murder one other."

Luke just watched awkwardly as the stepbrothers were fighting. The older Hemmings was just about done with the two, so he decided to step in between them to end their pointless fight.

"You two need to chill," Jack said calmly.

Michael's expression softened and he glanced down at the ground.

Calum just snorted. "I'm just looking out for my little brother and making sure he behaves."

After that was said, the boy with dirty blond hair glared at the brunet. "I'm literally a year below you! And we are _not_ brothers! Stop telling everyone that!" Michael huffed and then linked his arm with Luke's. "Come on, weird kid. I'd rather hang out with you than fart face there."

"But--" Luke wasn't able to finish his sentence before he was being dragged away by a grumbling Michael. He glanced back and Calum and Jack, seeing the brunet hanging his head and pinching the bridge of his nose while Jack was trying to talk to him reassuringly.

The blond freshman wasn't exactly sure what just happened within those few minutes, but somehow he ended up in the restroom with Michael sitting on the ground and his face buried in his knees that were pulled close to his chest. And maybe he wished Ashton was there so he could somehow cheer Michael up with his giggly and weird self. But he wasn't here, so it was all up to Luke.

"Um, do you want to, you know, talk about anything?" Luke awkwardly said, rubbing his arm.

Michael remained silent and the blond sighed, slowly taking a seat next to the taller boy.

"Is there anything you want to do?" the younger boy questioned, biting his bottom lip. "What do you like to do?"

Suddenly Michael gripped Luke's wrist and he lifted his head up so their eyes met. Luke saw how Michael's green eyes were a little wet, and he guessed the other boy was crying.

"Let's ditch the rest of the school day, just the two of us," Michael said. "There's a place I want to visit."

At first, Luke was going to say no and that he couldn't just leave, but the hopeful look in Michael's eyes made him go mute. Without another word, the blond nodded his head and he was being pulled up onto his feet by a grinning Michael.

The next thing Luke knew, the two left the restroom and were on their way to the front of the school. Once they were past the entrance, they started running, wide smiles and laughs leaving them. And they didn't look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neither Muke nor Malum will happen in the story.


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: A bunch of users on Wattpad are making me want to put Malum in the story. Darn it.

Unlike Michael who was eager to rush inside the shopping mall, Luke was hesitant, because he was afraid that someone was going to catch them ditching school. He could be overreacting about the whole situation, but he wasn't going to risk any chances.

The older boy ran to the escalator that would take him and Luke to the second floor. Before stepping on, Michael turned himself around to see where Luke was. When he saw how far behind the younger boy was, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Hurry up! We're almost there!"

Luke eyed the escalator, biting his bottom lip before proceeding to follow Michael. Once the two were on the second floor, Michael ran ahead of Luke to wherever he wanted to go to. Luke didn't know where they were going, but he didn't care as long as that place made Michael feel better.

Way in front of the two, there was a store that sent chills to go up and down Luke's spine. The place didn't give him a good feeling whatsoever, but maybe because he had never went inside that store before. Jack forbade Luke from entering the dark store. That's what Luke gets when he only goes shopping with his older brother.

Michael entered the store and Luke followed close behind him, already wanting to leave. In a way, Jack made him believe that the store was for bad people only, but all the clothes inside looked nice. He had never seen a store have so many band shirts.

"Let's go towards the back," Michael said, taking Luke's wrist and leading him to the back. Luke watched as Michael went over to a specific shelf that had something Luke least expected Michael to be interested in.

"Why does that girl have blue hair?" Luke asked, pointing at the plush that Michael was grabbing off the shelf.

"Her name's Hatsune Miku, and her hair's turquoise," Michael explained. "She's a humanoid from Japan and she's a part of this singing voice synthesizer called Vocaloid."

"Voca-huh?"

"She's so cute!" the taller boy cooed, hugging the plush. Luke was about to say something before Michael gasped and shoved the stuffed doll towards Luke and went over to a stack of shirts with anime characters on it.

When Luke walked inside the store, he was not expecting Michael to get excited over things originated from Japan. But the smile on the boy's face was so bright and Luke didn't question Michael's interest.

"Look at this shirt!" Michael exclaimed as he unfolded it and held it up for Luke to see. The younger boy raised an eyebrow, not recognizing the strange creatures on the shirt.

"What are those?" he asked, pointing at said creatures.

Michael looked highly offended as he pulled away the shirt and said, "They're called Pokémon! And these four cute pokémons are charmander, squirtle, bulbasaur, and pikachu!"

"Um..." But before Luke could say anything else, Michael bopped his forehead with his hand, making the younger boy squeeze his eyes shut.

"How dare you not know what they are! I'm offended!"

"But--"

"Hush, young pupil! You have so much to learn!" The older boy threw the shirt at Luke as began to sing. "I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was!"

Luke sighed as Michael pranced over to a bunch of plush toys that were of... what were they? Pikasaur? Squirmander? Whatever they were, but the older boy had the widest smile on his face that Luke couldn't help but smile as well.

"Hey, you wanna go grab me a bite to eat?" Michael asked. "Because that'd be great, thanks. I'll meet you at the food court later."

"But I didn't agree to anything," Luke said, but the other boy had already went to two stuffed plushies that had blond hair, one a guy and one a girl. Their outfit was similar to the girl with the turquoise hair.

Without saying anything more to Michael, Luke sighed to himself and left the place to go to the food court.

Luke didn't know what kind of food Michael liked, since he literally just met him today, so he decided that it'd be safe to get him pizza. He didn't know anyone who didn't like pizza, but Michael looked like the kind of person who'd be okay with the food.

So as he was waiting in line, he pulled out his phone and his face paled when he saw that he had received a text from his brother many minutes ago. He prayed that it didn't have anything to do with why Luke wasn't at school, and thankfully it wasn't.

**[From: Jack]  
I'm staying after school today, so if you want to walk home by yourself, you can. Stay safe, lil bro.**

The blond smiled and was about to text back, but then his eyes looked at the time to make sure school wasn't still in session. It was still sixth period, so he decided to not respond to his older brother yet.

"Luke?"

Hearing his name made Luke freeze in place. But after a while, his mind processed the voice and he was able to figure out whose voice it was. He turned around and saw Ashton walking towards him with a bag hanging from his arm.

"Hi, Lukey!" the shorter boy said with a wide smile. "You're absent from school, too? So am I!"

"Um, well..." Luke began, but he said instead, "Why aren't you in school?"

"Oh. I wasn't feeling too well, but I'm feeling a lot better now. I would've went back to school, but the day's already halfway through, so I decided not to go."

"I see." The blond motioned for Ashton to join him in the line, so that's what the other boy did. Luke noticed a long red line on Ashton's face and he narrowed his eyes. "What happened to your cheek?"

"Hm?" Ashton hummed.

"Right there." Luke reached his hand out and brushed the mark on Ashton's face. "Looks like something scratched you."

"Oh. Yeah, it was a cat. I saw one earlier and I tried to pet it, but I guess it didn't like me all that much."

Luke nodded and said nothing more. It did seem like Ashton to approach an animal and want to touch it, so Luke didn't think much of it.

He withdrew his hand and the two stood in the line, not saying anything to one another. Luke glanced down at the bag Ashton was holding and he grew curious as to what was inside.

But before Luke could ask what Ashton had inside the bag, he heard someone shout, "You!"

Of course, Luke turned his head around and saw Calum glaring at him. The brunet started stomping his way over to the two freshman and Ashton looked so confused while Luke didn't know why Calum looked so upset.

The next thing Luke knew, two hands gripped at his shirt and he was tugged forward.

"Where is he?!" Calum yelled.

"Who?" Ashton asked. "Luke, what is he talking about?"

Luke gulped and stuttered, "I, uh, I-I--"

"Where the hell is Michael?!"

As if on cue, Michael made his presence known when he held up a bag and exclaimed, "Hey, weird kid! Look what I--" But he stopped himself when seeing his stepbrother's eyes looking at him. Michael's face got paler and the first thing he did was run off, Calum letting go of Luke and chasing after him.

Ashton and Luke immediately left the line they were standing in to go after the two stepbrothers. When they turned the corner, they saw Calum running into a hallway and many of the passersby were watching what was happening.

There was a loud yelp and that made Luke run into the hallway, Ashton close behind him. Upon entering the place, they saw that Michael's chest was against the ground while Calum was on top of him and had the younger stepbrother's wrists pinned down.

"Why the hell are you here, fuckwad?!" Michael shouted as he tried to get up, but Calum seemed to be stronger.

"I should be asking you that, you little brat!" Calum snapped.

"Isn't school still happening? I thought you had your stupid sports practice at this time!"

"It got cancelled and I passed by your class and saw you weren't there. I suspected you would come here, but I saw your friend and wanted to know exactly where you were! And why the hell aren't you at school?!"

"'Cause I hate it there!"

"A lot of people hate school!"

"I don't hate school," Ashton spoke up, but Calum turned his head and glared at him.

"Shut up, no one asked you."

Seeing the hurt look on Ashton's face, Luke was starting to become irritated with the brunet. He narrowed his eyes at Calum and pulled his shorter friend towards him, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy protectively.

"Don't talk to him like that," Luke said.

Calum's eyes turned to the blond freshman, but the angry expression he wore never left his face. "What did you say to me?"

"I said, don't talk to Ashton like that. He didn't mean any harm."

The brunet stood up and walked over to Luke, pointing accusingly at him. "I don't like you. You let my numbskull of a stepbrother leave school, and don't think I forgot about you spilling your lunch on me on the first day of school."

"Wait, that was you?!" Michael exclaimed, jumping onto his feet. "Good job, weird kid!" Calum shot a glare at Michael, but the younger boy didn't seem to care.

Luke wasn't fond of the nickname Michael gave him, but he didn't comment anything about it. Instead he kept his eyes locked on Calum and he stepped away from Ashton. "It wasn't my fault you got in the way. Maybe if you were watching where you were walking, then you wouldn't have smelled like food."

Where the sudden burst of confidence came from Luke wasn't sure, but it felt oddly good to him.

Ashton stepped in between Luke and Calum. "Can you guys not fight? It's pointless and doesn't solve any--"

"You, shut it!" the brunet interrupted as he shoved Ashton aside, making the smaller boy's back roughly hit the wall and a cry of pain go past his lips as he fell to the ground.

Now Luke was pissed off.

The blond freshman lunged at Calum and tackled him to the ground, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and shaking him. But before anything more could happen, Michael wrapped his arms around Luke's waist and forced him away from Calum who was coughing violently.

A loud whistle sounded and four pairs of eyes turned to the entrance of the hallway where a mall cop was standing, motioning for the boys to follow him.

-

It's been an hour and fifteen minutes since Luke attacked Calum and an hour since the two boys made a call home. Michael didn't need to, since he and Calum pretty much lived together, and Luke's mom offered to take Ashton home, since the smaller boy tried contacting his parents and no one picked up.

The four boys were seated in cold and uncomfortable chairs as they waited to be picked up. No words were exchanged between any of them since being taken to the mall jail. Luke and Calum had scowls on their faces, Michael was on his phone, and Ashton fell asleep with his head resting on Luke's shoulder.

The cop that caught Luke and Calum fighting was sitting behind his desk, his eyes looking down at the newspaper in front of him. He'd glance up at the four boys every now and then to see what they were doing, but he stopped when it didn't seem like they would do anything any time soon.

Eventually a woman Luke had never seen before entered the place and both Calum and Michael looked over at her. The older boy stood from his spot as the lady rushed over to him. She pulled Calum in for a hug, but when she saw Michael who was still on his phone, her eyes narrowed.

"Michael," she said sternly, "when we get home, you are going to tell me what happened and then you're grounded, unless you can give me a valid reason as to why you shouldn't be."

Finally Michael stuffed his phone away, his jaw dropped. "You can't ground me! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Yet you act like one."

"Um, mom?" Calum spoke up as he drew away from the lady. "Don't blame Michael. It was my fault. I take full responsibility for my actions. So if anyone is going to be grounded, it's me."

Luke expected the lady to blow up at the brunet, but instead she fondly smiled at Calum and said, "As much as I'd like to think you're being honest, I find it hard to believe Michael did nothing bad."

"He didn't do anything this time, I promise."

She glanced down at the ground and gave a brief nod. "Thank you for being such a good stepson." She then looked back at Michael. "If only my biological son could be more like you."

The cop called the lady over and she did as told. Luke noticed that Michael was practically sending daggers at Calum whose eyes met his stepbrother's.

"I. Hate. You. So. Much," Michael grumbled as he stomped out of the place. Calum just let out a sigh and he turned around to look at Luke.

Calum pointed at the ground and Luke's eyes followed to see a bag. Then he heard the brunet ask, "Is that Michael's?"

"Uh, I think so?" Luke answered, though he sounded unsure. "You can check if it is."

The brunet just nodded, picking up the mentioned bag and peeking inside. He pulled out a stuffed yellow toy that Luke remembered seeing on the shirt Michael showed him earlier. A small smile made its way onto Calum's face.

"He's always been into these kind of things," Calum said. "I don't know why, but it's what makes him happiest in this world. And whenever he's upset about something, he turns to Japanese stuff. Pokémon is his favorite and he favors this yellow mouse thing called pikachu."

Luke nodded. "I see."

"Also, number one on his bucket list is to go to Japan." The brunet bit his bottom lip. "Hopefully, I'll be the one to take him there one day."

The blond raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. "I don't--I thought you said you didn't like me. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because how can I not when this side of Michael to me is like Pokémon to him?"

Hearing Calum say that made Luke smile. "You really care about him, don't you?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't care about me. He hates my guts and the fact that we're stepbrothers. I don't care all that much that we live under the same roof now, but I just--"

"Calum, we're leaving now," said the lady, making the brunet briefly glance at her.

"Okay," he responded and the woman walked out. Then Calum put the stuffed toy back inside the bag and turned back towards Luke. "Um, I'm sorry about earlier. Even though I don't show it in the best way, I get a bit overprotective of Michael."

"A bit?" Luke questioned.

"And I apologize for shoving your friend there." Calum gestured towards Ashton who was snoring loudly. "Anyway, I'mma go now. Clean slate?"

Luke blinked at the brunet before he finally responded, "S-Sure."

Once Calum excused himself and left, the blond sensed Ashton stirring next to him and he glanced down at the smaller boy.

Ashton lifted his head and rubbed at his eyes sleepily, asking, "Is it time to go yet?"

"Uh, no. Our parents aren't here, and I really don't want to go home. My mom's going to give me an earful."

The shorter boy just made an almost inaudible groaning sound as he scratched the side of his face, wincing when picking dried blood off his cheek.

"You should probably get that cleaned," Luke commented.

Ashton nodded. "Yeah. I should be more cautious when I approach dogs."

"... You told me that a cat scratched you."

"Oh. What I meant was, I should be more careful around dogs and cats. Or all animals, in general."

"Oh, okay. That makes more sense."

"Yeah." Things were quiet between the two before Ashton broke the silence and said, "Thank you for sticking up for me."

"It's no big deal," Luke said with a shrug. "I mean, you honestly did nothing wrong and that Calum guy had no right to snap at--"

Before he could finish, the blond felt a hand on his cheek and said hand was pulling him closer to Ashton. The next thing he knew, a pair of lips met his cheek that didn't have a hand on top of it.

Luke's eyes were wide as those lips that were no doubt Ashton's remained in place for ten seconds. Eventually, the shorter boy pulled away and Luke couldn't even bring himself to move an inch or even say something.

"That was just a thank you," Ashton said, giggling a little bit as he sat himself down properly on the chair. "Thank you, Lukey."

And even after his mom barged through the place and was ready to yell at Luke, the blond thought of nothing else but those soft lips of Ashton's that were on his now blushing cheek not too long ago.

He couldn't help it. The small kiss felt so... nice.

Luke liked it.


	10. Chapter 9

The first thing Luke did when he got home was walk to his room and lie down on his bed, his eyes staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face. His cheeks were still red from when he started blushing the moment he stepped out of the jail place, but he didn't bother turning on the lights, so if anyone were to walk in then no one would be able to see how red Luke's face was.

He had his hand touching the spot Ashton kissed and the scene kept replaying over and over again his head. He couldn't forget it, not like he wanted to; it was all he thought about for the rest of the evening.

Even when his mom came into the room and started scolding him, he managed to tune her out by thinking of Ashton's lips on his cheek and only Ashton's lips on his cheek. Soon his mom got annoyed with him ignoring her whenever she demanded answers out of him and she huffed, closing the door and leaving to buy some food for dinner.

It was already five in the afternoon and the only ones at home were Luke and his mom. Jack still hadn't returned yet from school, and Luke just hoped his older brother wouldn't find out about him ditching classes after lunch.

The sound of the front door opening was heard and Luke sat upright on his bed as he heard his older brother greeting their mom. Footsteps sounded and Luke knew Jack was on his way to his own room, probably to either do his homework or read.

But the door swung open and the younger Hemmings's eyes landed on his brother. Jack flicked the lights on and Luke saw a look on his face that looked as if it was disappointment.

"So," Jack said, approaching the bed and sitting down next to Luke, "did you have fun?"

"H-Have fun?" Luke asked, praying that his brother wasn't talking about what Luke thought he might be talking about.

The older Hemming sighed. "I expected better from you, Luke. I never thought there'd be a day where you'd do something like ditch school." Luke gulped nervously and was about to ask how his older brother knew about him ditching, but it seemed like Jack read his mind as he said, "I don't have class fifth hour. I passed by your fifth period class and saw that you weren't in there."

Jack moved closer to his brother and asked softly, "What happened to my good little Luke? What compelled you to leave school?"

"I'm good, I promise." The younger blond glanced down in between him and his brother. "It's just--Michael looked sad after arguing with Calum during lunch today and he wanted to go somewhere, some place that made him happy."

"So you willingly left school just so you could make someone happy?"

Luke hesitantly nodded his head. "I just wanted to see Michael smile. I don't like when people are sad."

"I'm sure there were other ways to make him smile," Jack assured, "but leaving in the middle of the school day shouldn't even be an option. Just promise--Luke, look at me." Jack gently took Luke's chin in between his fingers and had his little brother make eye contact with him. "Don't try to make friends by pleasing people. I know you're way better than that. Be yourself and the right friends will come to you."

"People don't want to see me as I am." The younger Hemmings began to frown, removing his brother's hand from his face. "Nobody likes you if you don't fit in."

"Why fit in and be forgotten when you can stand out and be remembered? Honestly, fitting in is like making a clone of another person. We're all born unique. Don't try to be someone else when the best person you can be is yourself."

Luke looked down at the space between his brother and him and mumbled, "What if I want to be like you? You're so much cooler than I am now, and that's a fact."

Jack fondly smiled as he answered, "Correction: that's an opinion. There's no fact that exists that says one person is cooler than another person. Also, it's completely normal to want to grow up and be like someone, but all that someone can do is influence you if you let them. No one's forcing you to be like anyone. If you want to be like me, that's your choice. It's not my place to say what you can and cannot be. In my opinion, it's best to be unique and your own person. And if no one will accept you as you, then those people are not worth any of your time. Do you kind of get what I'm saying?"

His older brother's words began sinking into Luke's head and the younger Hemmings nodded without saying anything. He was still trying to wrap his head around what Jack told him, but he figured he'd get it eventually.

"Now," Jack started again as he stood up from where he was sitting, "I'm going to be reading in my room. If you need me, just walk in."

Luke nodded his head and he let out a playful groan when Jack ruffled his hair. Once his older brother left, Luke went to lie down again, thinking about what his brother just told him. He wondered if he should continue to be friends with Michael. Well, he wasn't exactly sure if they were friends. Luke felt as if today was probably the only time the two would ever interact.

And if he did try to be on good terms with Michael, would the older boy still accept Luke for who he was? Luke saw thought of himself as a boring person and that no one would want to be friends with someone who was boring.

But then there was Ashton who followed Luke around like an annoying yet adorable puppy with its human. Ashton was the only person who actually wanted to hang out with someone like Luke, and that alone had Luke smiling.

Thinking about the shorter boy, the blond couldn't help but remember the kiss. His cheeks became red once again and he placed his cold hands against them, trying to cool them down. That didn't work. He was still blushing madly.

He had never received a kiss from someone who wasn't related to him by blood. Ever. So getting a kiss on the cheek that wasn't even a quick peck made Luke feel surprised and his stomach fill with a million butterflies.

Just thinking about it made Luke want to tell someone. Obviously, he couldn't tell Ashton about it. That'd be awkward. Michael and Calum were out of the question since he wasn't very close to them. So that left him with the choice of Jack.

Of course, his older brother was going to be the first person he told. Why wouldn't Luke tell Jack? He could tell him anything, because Jack was the most trustworthy person Luke knew. He knew his brother would be able to keep things between the two of them without any problems whatsoever.

So he stood from his bed and went over to Jack's room, seeing that his door was cracked open the smallest bit. He saw his brother sitting in his bean bag chair, his legs extended outwards and crossed at the ankles while he was holding a book titled 'Tree House.' It was like Jack had a new book in his hands every week. Luke thought his brother must really enjoy reading.

Luke lightly knocked on the door before he opened it up, seeing the older Hemmings looking away from the words in the book. A smile graced Jack's lips and Luke took a seat on his bed.

"Hi, Jack," he said, a sheepish smile on his own face.

"What's up?" Jack questioned, picking up his bookmark and putting it inside the book he was reading.

"Um, can I tell you something? Promise you won't tell anyone. Not even Mom."

The older brother raised one eyebrow, but nodded.

Luke took in a breath and was about to speak, but the sound of someone clearing their throat by the door was heard and the two brothers glanced to see their mom with her arms folded across her chest.

"And why can't Mom know?" Liz asked.

"N-Nothing," Luke said, eyes turning towards the ground.

"Didn't seem like nothing if it you only wanted to share it with your brother."

"Mom, chill," Jack said, but Liz shot a glare at her oldest son who gulped. "I-I mean, I love you?"

"Mhm. Anyway, we're going out to eat tonight, because I really don't feel like shopping and cooking something. What do you two want?"

"Pasta!" Luke exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air as a wide smile formed on his face.

"Macca's it is."

-

The next day at school, Luke tried being more like himself around Michael, like Jack told him to. The two were becoming friends and at least that was something. They talked about themselves a bit more during warm ups, despite Mr. Gomez's constant reminder for them to finish their work.

And when Luke went to talk about Pokémon, Michael slapped his hand over the younger boy's face, telling him to keep quiet about it and not wanting anyone to know that he liked Pokémon. So Luke proceeded to talk about Vocaloid and that only got him a kick to the underpart of his chair by Michael.

Luke figured Michael didn't like anyone knowing that he liked anything from Japan, but Luke didn't think that anyone finding out was a big deal. But Michael claimed he had a reputation to uphold and that he only told Luke about his guilty pleasure because he couldn't hold in his excitement when they were at the shopping center.

But something was off about the day so far and Luke knew what it was when he glanced to his left, seeing Ashton's eyes fixed on his open notebook as he was working on the warm up and not saying anything.

That was exactly it. Ashton was _actually_ working on the warm up and he was _silent_.

Not only was he quiet now, but earlier before class he was less talkative than he normally was. And that was odd, because Ashton always had something to say, but today he kept to himself.

The blond was about to grab Ashton's attention, but then their Maths teacher announced that it was time for some students to solve the problems up on the board. Once again, Luke got nothing done, but the lesson wasn't even difficult, so it didn't matter. He already knew how to solve the problems in the warm up.

"Mr. Irwin," Mr. Gomez said, an obviously fake smile on his face as Ashton whose eyes were still on his paper looked up, "would you like to come up and solve the first problem?"

"U-Uh, sure..." Ashton slowly got out of his seat, picked up his notebook, and walked over to the whiteboard.

Luke watched as Ashton reached for the marker, removing the cap and placing it on the pen tray. By the way Ashton's eyes kept staring at what he'd written in his notebook, Luke could tell that he was trying to stall time.

"Any day now, Mr. Irwin," the Maths teacher grumbled, annoying Luke that he was getting impatient with Ashton when he was the one who called him up.

After a while, the shorter boy groaned and glanced over to Mr. Gomez, asking, "Is there such thing as a lifeline in this class?"

The teacher raised his eyebrow and the class snickered, Luke being the only one who was silent and feeling a little bit bad for Ashton.

Mr. Gomez sighed and questioned, "Did you even do the problem?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if it's right."

"It's fine to be wrong. As long as you learn in the end, it's all that matters."

Ashton nodded. "But can I still have someone stand by me?"

"Sure, whatever."

Then Ashton's eyes turned towards Luke's.

Taken slightly aback, Luke straightened his back and glanced around the room to see that everyone was looking at him now. He wanted to shrink himself to the point no one could see him, but he knew that wouldn't work so he got out of his seat and went over to Ashton.

The blond stood beside him and the class all around started chatting with one another about whatever came to their mind. Luke and Ashton both leaned closer to one another until their arms were pressed against each other. The taller of the two examined Ashton's work and then furrowed his eyebrows.

"This is correct," Luke answered in a quite voice as he looked over the other problems. "They're all correct. I don't see why you need someone to--"

"I'm sorry."

Confused by Ashton's response, Luke questioned, "Sorry for what?" He looked at Ashton's face and saw some tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes. Inside he wanted to panic, but he knew that wouldn't help anything, and he also couldn't do that in the front of the classroom.

When Luke looked around the class, no one seemed to be paying attention. Even Mr. Gomez was rummaging through the papers on his desk, probably tired of waiting for the problem to be finished and decided to use the time to work on other things.

"I--" Ashton began, but he stopped himself before he could say anything else. He seemed as if he was contemplating what he was going to say next. He let out a shaky breath and wiped at his eyes. "I already knew this problem was right. I just wanted you to be next to me."

"Oh." Luke was relieved to hear that it wasn't anything too bad. "It's nothing to cry over, you know. I don't mind standing beside you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But you couldn't have waited until after class?"

"N-No."

The blond raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Are you two done yet?" Mr. Gomez asked loudly. "I have a lesson to teach to you guys."

"S-Sorry!" Luke apologized, briefly glancing at the Maths teacher. "One minute!" He looked down at the notebook once again and began saying loud enough for the class to hear. "So, Ashton, obviously you know that all three angles of a triangle equal one-eighty."

Ashton had a look of confusion on his face. "I already know that," he whispered.

Luke leaned his face closer to Ashton's so their cheeks were almost touching. "And since this is a right triangle, you can figure out what the hypotenuse is using the Pythagorean theorem, which is the simple equation of--"

"Luke, I know--"

The shorter boy didn't get to finish his sentence when he felt Luke quickly give him a peck to the cheek. His eyes widened and he stepped away from Luke, showing him his shocked face as he placed his hand over his face.

"And that's how you do the first problem," the blond said cheekily, grinning as he went back over to his seat. From the bored countenances on everyone's faces, he could tell that no one even noticed the small action he pulled in front of the classroom. And he was a bit grateful for that.

Honestly, he didn't know what came upon him when he did that. Courage began to build inside him and he felt the strongest urge to kiss Ashton on the cheek, so he went for it. It was a bit of a risk, since he did it in front of peers he didn't even know.

Despite the kiss being quick and short, Luke remembered how soft Ashton's cheek felt against his lips. It was nice, and maybe he wanted to kiss Ashton again.

And maybe as he watched Ashton work the problem out on the whiteboard, his heart was pounding harder than it was before. He certainly did have a wide smile on his face, like he was proud of giving Ashton a kiss. He was hardly paying attention in class during the lesson, because he just kept replaying the kiss over and over again in his mind.

Luke might have not known Ashton for a long time, their first encounter only being over a week ago, but there was no denying that he was beginning to feel something towards him. He didn't know for sure what these feelings were, so he didn't plan on saying anything to anyone. But he already knew the first person he was going to tell for when the time came.


	11. Chapter 10

Friday was back and Luke was for sure that he had a crush on Ashton. Whether it was a big or small one, he still held feelings for the shorter boy.

Luke, Ashton, and Jack all went to the Hemmings household where the two freshmen would do homework together and Jack would work on his own in his room. Luke felt nervous just being alone with Ashton, but it wasn't like they were going to do anything 'weird' in his room.

Currently, Luke and Ashton were in Luke's room and they were seated on the ground with their Geometry books open and notes scattered around them.

"Wait, which one's complementary?" Ashton asked, picking up one of Luke's note papers and looking at it.

"The one where two angles add up to ninety degrees together," Luke explained.

"Then what was the other--"

"Supplementary."

"Oh. Okay. Got it."

A smile formed on Luke's face when he watched Ashton stare down at the notes, his expression evidently showing he was doing his best to understand what he wrote down. Because of Ashton's poor and unreadable penmanship, Luke had to let Ashton borrow his notes, because they were easier to read and understand.

The two were lying on their stomachs, upper arms pressed together while Luke helped Ashton out through most of the homework problems. Ashton wanted to help Luke out with maths as well, but the taller of the two needed none, since he understood the whole lesson.

But to make Ashton feel better about himself, he would pretend he didn't understand a question and ask Ashton for help, feeling fuzzy inside when a bright smile formed on Ashton's face as he began to help Luke out with the homework.

After two hours of nonstop homework, Ashton got up and stretched his arms above his head and yawned out, "I'm tired."

His shirt rode up a bit and Luke couldn't help but look at the smaller boy's exposed stomach. But when Ashton stopped stretching and glanced down at Luke, the latter boy blinked a couple of times before their eyes met.

"I'll be right back," he said and walked out of Luke's room and heading down the hallway.

A few seconds passed and the younger Hemmings stood from his spot, walking out of his room. He went over to where his older brother was and found him sitting at his desk, papers covering the entire top surface of the table.

"Jacky?" Luke spoke up, going to Jack's bed and lying down on his stomach.

Hearing his name, Jack turned his head, saw Luke, and smiled. "How's homework?" he questioned, turning in his swivel chair so he was now completely facing the younger Hemmings.

"It's pretty easy," Luke answered. "I understand most of what we've learned and helped Ashton out a lot."

"That's nice."

"Yeah."

The two brothers didn't say much after, their eyes awkwardly going around the room. Luke broke the silence when he said, "Can I tell you something?"

Jack's eyes looked over at Luke, nodding his head. "Sure," he said, "what is it?"

"It's about Ashton."

"Oh?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "I've noticed you're okay with being around him now. I remember on the first day of school, you made him cry."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget that already. Anyway, I just... You know, Ashton's not so bad after all."

"He's not even remotely close to bad." Jack glanced away from his brother, his eyes fixed out the window. "Is there something I don't know?"

"I'm getting there. So, um..." Luke tugged his bottom lip in between his teeth. "Well, obviously Ashton's a good guy and he acts like a puppy most of the time and I don't really know a lot about him. And even though we didn't know each other that long, I think--no, I know that--"

"What is Ashton doing outside?"

Luke's eyes went wide as he shot up and went towards the window to see Ashton trying to climb up a tree. He furrowed his eyebrows when the shorter boy jumped back onto the ground, staring up and shaking his head. Then he removed the jacket that he was wearing, tossed it to the ground, and resumed to trying to go up the tree again.

The younger Hemmings ran out of his room and darted out the front door, ignoring his mom when she asked why he was in such a hurry. He rushed over to the tree and saw Ashton was now way high up and on one of the large branches, inching his way over to what looked to be a kite.

Luke noticed that there were two smaller kids holding the spool and watching Ashton as he was close enough to the object to untangle it from the tree's hold. The taller freshman stepped closer to the tree and looked up at Ashton, cupping his hands over his mouth and shouting, "Ash, get down from there! You'll get hurt!"

"Wait! I need to get this!" the shorter boy responded. "I'll be down in a moment!" He reached out to the kite, wrapping his legs securely around the branch to keep him in place.

Once the kite was removed, Ashton tossed it to the ground in the direction of the kids who thanked Ashton gratefully and scurried across the street to their home, Luke assumed.

"Okay, you got the kids' kite back," Luke said. "Now can you please get do--"

"Luke!"

The blond's heart nearly stopped when Ashton's body leaned too far to the side and now the smaller boy had all his limbs wrapped around the branch to keep himself from falling.

Luke was scared for Ashton. He didn't want him getting hurt and he watched in horror as Ashton's grip was getting loose. He was freaking out inside and he couldn't think of any solutions to save Ashton.

However, there was one, but it was a little risky for him. But if it meant Ashton won't be too badly hurt, he was willing to give it a shot.

So the blond ran under where Ashton was now dangling, the only thing keeping him up was his hands that were held onto the branch. He looked up at Ashton whose eyes were squeezed shut and his expression clearly showed he was frightened out of his mind.

Luke held out his arms and yelled, "Ashton, let go!"

But Ashton shook his head. "Luke, I'm scared!" he shouted back, Luke noticing that the smaller boy's breathing was increasing rapidly.

"Just let go! I'll--" He gulped. "I'll catch you!"

"I can't!"

"I promise you'll be okay! Trust me!"

Ashton peeked one eye open before gulping and then he finally let go of the branch, screaming on his way down.

And as Luke had said, he caught Ashton. He almost lost balance when doing so, but he regained it and now the shorter boy was clinging to Luke and burying his face in his neck. His breathing was still fast and it didn't seem like it was going to slow down any time soon.

Luke cautiously began lowering himself until he was seated on the ground, Ashton in his arms and pretty much his lap.

"See? You're okay," the blond said, weakly chuckling. "I told you you'd be okay."

"I--I just--" Ashton began, pulling his face away from Luke's neck. "Th-That was--I don't--I thought I was going to d-die."

"From that height, you wouldn't die. Hurt, yeah, but not dead."

"L-Luke, I can't--N-Need to calm down--"

Before Luke could even think of what to say, Ashton fainted.

-

"Jacky, I-I was so scared," Luke said as he placed Ashton down on his bed and pulled the blankets over his sleeping body. "I didn't want to see him get hurt."

"But still," Jack said from where he was leaning against the doorway, "it wasn't such a good idea to catch him by yourself. You could've gotten hurt, too."

"I know. But if it lessened the pain of Ashton's fall, I didn't care." Luke brushed Ashton's fringe from his closed eyes, the smaller boy's breathing soft and normal again.

The older Hemmings sighed. "Sometimes, you're an idiot. But you're a brave one, and I applaud you for that."

Luke shook his head. "I'm not that brave. If anything, you're braver than I'll ever be."

"Luke, you don't give yourself enough credit. What you did was something that could've resulted with you both or you alone in the hospital, but you went for it anyway just for Ashton. You are a great person and Ashton is very lucky to have someone like you in his life."

That made the younger blond smile, his arms extended outwards to let his brother know he wanted a hug. Jack did as motioned and he wrapped his arms around his brother whose body was shaking a bit.

"It's okay, Luke," Jack reassured. "Everything's all right now."

"I know," Luke said. "I just can't stop feeling freaked out."

The two brothers remained in their embraced in comfortable silence, neither saying anything as Jack soothingly combed Luke's blond hair with his fingers.

After a while, Luke's trembling subsided and he whispered out, "Jacky, can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course," the older Hemmings said. "What is it?"

Luke took in a deep breath before he exhaled. "I think I have a crush on Ashton."

And that was when Jack's fingers stopped running through Luke's hair.

"You think?" the older brother repeated, drawing away from Luke and raising one eyebrow at him.

"N-No, I don't think. I know." The younger Hemmings sat down on the edge of the bed, hands folded in his lap and eyes looking at the ground. "I'm not in love with him or anything. I just know I hold some feelings for Ashton, and--and it's only been a few weeks."

Jack tilted his head up slightly, mouth slightly open and eyes still on Luke. All he said back to his younger brother was, "Huh."

Luke nodded awkwardly. "The me that met Ashton for the first time wouldn't have ever thought of liking the guy at all, let alone develop feelings. But now all I want to do is be with him and protect him from anything that would hurt him in any way, whether it'd be physically, mentally, emotionally, all those things. I just... I really care about him and I want to keep him safe."

"I see." Jack averted his gaze from Luke's, rolling his lips in between his teeth. He then turned around and announced, "Well, I'm gonna go do some more studying. Keep an eye on Ashton, okay?"

"I don't plan on leaving him until I know he's okay," Luke said back, "but even then, I'll stay here."

A small grin made its way onto the older Hemmings's lips as he exited the room, hands stuffed in the pockets of his sweatpants.

Luke glanced down at Ashton, a small smile appearing at how relaxed and peaceful Ashton looked, even though the smaller freshman did pass out after experiencing something as scary as falling from a high height. The blond almost had a heart attack when he saw Ashton hanging onto the tree. He didn't know what he'd do to himself if Ashton got hurt.

Thankfully, Ashton was okay and survived the fall unscathed. Luke couldn't be any more happy about that, but right now he just wanted Ashton to be conscious. He wanted to see his pretty hazel eyes from behind the closed eyelids and see the smile the smaller boy wore almost every time and hear the joyous giggles he'd make when something amused him.

Time went by slowly and Luke was getting tired as the seconds ticked on. He willed himself to stay awake so he'd be mentally there when Ashton awoke from his unconscious mind.

Luke couldn't keep his eyes open any longer as he slowly began drifting to sleep. He was seated on the bed at first, but then he decided to lie down next to Ashton (but not too close; he made sure there was space between them). He closed his eyes and was slowly beginning to sleep.

But what seemed like , he was being trampled on and he shot up as he groggily opened his eyes, seeing Ashton frantically shoving all of his school supplies in his backpack.

"What's the hurry, Ashton?" Luke asked, rubbing at his tired blue eyes.

"I need to get home," he exclaimed, "like, right now!"

The taller blond glanced over at the clock and saw that it was eight in the evening. He wasn't sure why Ashton was in such a hurry, but he decided to get up anyway.

"Why do you need to get home so badly?" he questioned. "You can't spare more time here?"

"I can't! They--I have to get home, Luke! Please!" Ashton's breathing began to quicken again and now Luke was more awake than before.

He stood in front of Ashton, placing his hands on the shorter boy's shoulders and looking him in the eyes.

"You need to calm down," Luke said calmly. "It's okay."

"No, it's not!" Ashton pushed Luke's hand away, throwing his unzipped backpack over his shoulder. "I--I need to go. I'll see you Monday!" He hurried over to the door, but stopped right at the entrance, placing one hand against the wall as his backpack slipped off of him and onto the ground.

Luke quickly went to Ashton's aid and made sure the frantic boy didn't collapse to his knees as Ashton tried his best to breathe.

The blond led Ashton to the window, opening it up and having Ashton stand in front of it so his face was close enough to where fresh air would come in. Luke was behind Ashton and patting his back, not sure what else he could do to make the smaller boy calm down.

In the end, Luke resulted with wrapping his arms around Ashton and pressed his chest to the shorter boy's back. Ashton's erratic breathing began to slow down and was starting to go back to normal.

"Relax, okay?" Luke whispered. "Everything's okay."

"Pl-Please, Lukey," Ashton whimpered. "N-Need to go h-home. Please."

"Okay, let's take you home."

"But could your mom drive me there? I don't think I'll make it by foot."

Luke nodded and motioned for Ashton to sit down on the bed, the now calm boy doing so as he hugged his knees close to his chest.

The younger Hemmings searched around the house for his mom, but was informed by his brother she had left to buy food. Luke frowned and went back to his room to let Ashton know of the news.

When Ashton saw the look on Luke's face, he pouted and his bottom lip quivered and the taller of the two really didn't like to see Ashton anything but happy.

So Luke ran out of his room and into Jack's, the first thing he said upon entering, "Jack, could you take Ashton and me somewhere?"

"Luke, I can't," the older Hemmings said with a sigh, sitting upright from where he was lying down on his bed. "I'm not allowed to carry passengers just yet."

"Please? Mom's gone and Ashton has to get home. He was freaking out earlier and if he walks, he doesn't think he'll make it. I know you have to wait until a year after you've received your license, but it's really important. Pretty please? Just this once. I won't ask you to drive before the year's up ever again, I promise."

"If I get caught by the police, I'll get my license suspended and I'll get grounded by mom as well. I don't think--"

"Please? Pretty please with a puffy penguin on top?" Luke jutted out his lower lip, approaching his brother's bed and sitting on top of it.

Jack rubbed the sides of his head, averting his eyes from Luke. He wasn't going to fall for his brother's charm. It wasn't going to work this time.

-

"So, Ashton, which one is it?" Jack asked as he turned the car around a corner and slowly drove down the street.

"Seventh house on the left," Ashton answered, bringing his hands up to his face and muttering something to himself that Luke couldn't hear.

But the blond wasn't really focused on Ashton. He just couldn't believe the kind of neighborhood Ashton was living in. He had passed the area many times, but never thought he'd be within the neighborhood itself.

"Why would you want to hang out with us at our house," Luke began as he turned himself around from the passenger seat, "when you live in a mansion?"

The neighborhood was a very rich one. Only those who had high-paying jobs could afford any of these homes.

Ashton didn't answer him as his home was approaching. From intense worry to extreme relief, his mood changed faster than a snap of a finger when the car finally came to a stop and he bolted out of the vehicle with his hand holding onto the grip of his backpack. He approached a gate and went to the keypad, punching a long code before the gates slowly opened.

He turned around and had a wide smile on his face as he waved at the Hemmings brothers. "Bye, Luke! Bye, Jack!" he exclaimed. Then he turned around and ran towards the mansion.

The next thing Luke knew, Jack put the car on park, pulled the keys from the engine, and stepped out of the vehicle. Luke gave a confused look at his brother who merely explained, "I'll be back. I'm just making sure Ashton makes it to the front door safely. Just stay here and wait for me, okay?"

Luke nodded in understanding and watched from inside the car as Jack ran, following Ashton down the long driveway that led up to the huge front door of Ashton's home. Luke squinted his eyes as his crush and his brother were getting smaller, but eventually the two stopped in front of the door.

The blond could've sworn he saw Jack place a hand on Ashton's shoulder and make the smaller boy face him. Obviously, he couldn't tell what was going on and narrowing his eyes some more didn't help much either.

But then he saw Ashton throw his arms around Jack's neck and pull him into an embrace. His eyes went wide when his brother hugged back, his own arms going around the smaller boy's waist. He was a little bit sad that Ashton didn't give him a hug before he ran out, but he let it slide since the shorter boy was in a hurry and wanted to get home more than anything else then.

Jack began running back to the car as Ashton finally disappeared inside his house. Luke furrowed his eyebrows when his brother was getting inside the car, breathing a bit heavily after his running.

"What'd you tell Ashton?" Luke asked, glancing at his brother who started the car.

"Nothing important," Jack answered, staring straight ahead and still trying to catch his breath.

"Well, Ashton hugged you and he didn't hug me."

"Oh, he hugged me so I could transfer his hug to you. Come here, little bro." Jack reached over the console and brought his arms around his younger brother. Luke smiled and hugged back, despite the hug not exactly being from his brother.

When the two Hemmings siblings drew away from the embrace, Jack put the car on drive and did a three-point turn so he could take Luke and himself home. The rest of the car ride was silent, but then Luke turned on the radio and the station they were listening to was in the middle of playing Walk the Moon's Anna Sun.

The two brothers made it home a minute before their mom did, which the two brothers were really glad about. But Liz already figured that her sons took a ride in one of the cars, because Luke hadn't closed his door all the way and the lights inside the vehicle were left on.

Jack took the blame and Liz decided to only ground her older son, but she was too tired to think of a punishment at the moment and just wanted to get dinner over with so she could go to bed. So then she went to the kitchen and started to get dinner ready while Luke and Jack hurried to their rooms.

The first thing Luke did was jump into bed and pull the covers over him, wanting to take a nap for a bit before eating dinner. His mind drifted to Ashton and he was just extremely grateful that Ashton made it home safely, whether he was on time or not. The shorter boy did seem really relieved to get home and that meant to Luke that it was a good thing.

While getting into a more comfortable position, Luke felt something brush against his hand and his eyes snapped open, the blond sitting upright and finding a jacket--Ashton's jacket.

Luke picked the article of clothing up in his hand and the faint smell from the jacket entered Luke's nose. At first he snorted and turned his head away, because he thought it was weird to smell his crush, even if he did get a small sniff unintentionally. He was about to toss the jacket over to his swivel chair, but decided against it and instead left it next to his pillow.

He went to lie down and turned his head so he was facing away from the jacket, but as minutes went on, he found himself cuddling the jacket. It was just a bit comforting to him, like Ashton was still here with him.

It wasn't like the boy was gone, but Luke wished that Ashton could've stayed over instead of having to go home. Frankly, he liked Ashton's company, and the shorter boy's jacket whose smell was Ashton's was like a substitute.

Luke thought he couldn't like the boy any more than he already did, but even though it hasn't been very long, he was starting to fall for Ashton. He wasn't sure where this crush he had would lead him, but he hoped that it wouldn't lead him to anything bad.


	12. Chapter 11

It was Sunday night and Luke was sitting at the dining table with a plate of beef bolognese spaghetti in front of him. He was twirling his fork around in the noodles, having yet to eat half of the food like his family had already done.

He was too distracted to eat. His mind kept going to Ashton, and Ashton was all the blond could think about. Luke had never thought about a person so much in twenty-four hours. Hell, he never exactly had a crush on someone before. His mind was always on his older brother whom he admired and looked up to a lot, so thinking about another guy was funny. In a good way, though.

"That's great, Jack!" Luke heard his mom exclaim, not sure what the heck she and his older brother were talking about. "I'm proud of you."

"Yeah," Jack said with a shrug, spinning his fork around so the spaghetti wrapped around the prong. He lifted his fork up and held it up to his mouth before saying, "My teacher said I was gonna go places and used me as an example of a scholar. Made the class but me feel ashamed of themselves."

Liz smiled and then looked over at Luke as Jack resumed to eating. "How's school so far for you?"

"It's, um, pretty good," Luke answered. "I'm liking high school so far."

"You better, since you're stuck there for another four years."

"Don't say that," Jack spoke. "He's privileged to attend high school, because it'll help him get to a good university and be successful in life."

"Can't I just be successful without going to school?" the youngest Hemmings questioned. "Like, become a YouTube star sensation or something? I could play covers of songs and become famous that way."

Liz frowned. "The chances of that happening are very slim. It's possible, but not likely. I say stay in school. It involves more work, but your chances of success are higher."

Luke felt a bit hurt from his mom's answer and glanced down at his hands that have found their way to his lap, clasped together.

Jack rolled his eyes and glanced over to Luke. "I believe in you. If you want to do that, you can. No one is stopping you. You'll definitely gain some fans. But if you don't, Ashton and I will always be your fans."

The younger brother smiled, but it disappeared just before he said, "Ashton's never heard me sing before."

"I know that he'll love your singing anyway."

The words made Luke's smile grow wider. He felt like Jack was right. Ashton was an accepting boy; he seemed like the kind of guy who was amused by anything and everything. Even if he were to not like Luke's singing, he'd at least be supportive.

"May I be excused?" Jack asked, hands on either side of his dinner-free plate. "I've finished eating. I'll be down here to clean the table and wash the dishes."

Liz sighed and waved her hand. "Go ahead. But just because you offered to clean the table and the dishes does not mean you're off the hook. You're still grounded, young man, for using the car."

Jack sighed, nodding and then leaving the dining room. Liz's eyes looked over to Luke who just looked back at him. The younger blond quickly looked down at his spaghetti, wanting to avoid the awkward eye contact he just had with his mom.

"You better finish your food," Liz said, "or else I'll make you do the dishes instead."

As much as Luke loves his brother, he really didn't want to do any chores for the rest of the evening. So he started to eat his food as quickly as he could, praying he won't throw up afterwards.

In ten minutes time Luke finished his dinner and he was really full. He carried his empty plate over to the sink where Jack was going to clean all of the dinner plates and eating utensils used for tonight's dinner. He quickly told his mom good night before scurrying off to his room.

He saw that Jack's room door was open, so he peered inside and spotted his brother lying on the bed with his phone in his hand, his finger rapidly typing away on the rectangular screen.

"What're you doing?" Luke questioned, being the curious little brother that he is.

"Texting Michael," Jack responded. "He's ranting to me about Calum."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I'm his rant buddy, apparently. Whenever he needs to rant, he comes to me. Right now, he's just going on and on about how stupid and annoying Cal is."

"Isn't Calum your friend, too?"

"He is. He thinks Michael's stupid, too."

Luke just nodded to that, not really sure how to respond to that. In the blond's opinion, the two stepbrothers' relationship was weird. He didn't understand how the two could stand each other under the same roof. They probably didn't and fought constantly. Luke wouldn't know what would happen if he himself was always fighting with Jack.

He thought back to what Calum told him--how Michael had always wanted to go to Japan and that one day the brunet would help his younger stepbrother get there. Luke really didn't think that Calum hated Michael as much as Michael hated Calum, if the brunet was willing to do something for the younger boy.

"Does Calum hate Michael?" Luke asked Jack.

"I 'unno," the older Hemmings answered, glancing away from his phone so he was looking at Luke. "Maybe? The two just rant on and on about each other to me, but Michael rants more. He's told me enough times how much he hates Cal, but I think he just says that out of anger. He does tend to act on impulse."

"I see." Luke stared down at his feet before saying, "Well, I'm going to go to my room. Good night, Jack."

"Okay. Night, Luke." Jack's eyes went back to his phone screen and Luke scurried off to his room.

Since he had already showered two hours ago and was already wearing the clothes he usually wore to bed, he decided to call it a night and get ready to sleep. He went over to where his phone was charging and made sure his alarm was set and that the sound was on loud.

Luke went off to the restroom to brush his teeth, wash his face, and pee. Once he was finished, he went back to his room, closed the door, and flicked off the lights before running over to his bed and jumping under the covers. He curled up in his blanket and instantly smiled when he felt warm and comfortable.

The blond was so close to drifting off to sleep when a certain smell reached his nose. Rubbing at his eyes sleepily, he sat upright and felt around his bed until his hand found Ashton's jacket. A small smile made its way onto his face before he grabbed said jacket and pulled it close to his chest.

It was probably really creepy and strange, but Luke had slept with the jacket tight in his hug for two nights in a row. He lay back down on the bed and buried his face in the article of clothing.

The smell of Ashton helped him sleep better, for some reason, and Luke fell asleep with the smile still on his face.

-

Luke was really excited to get to school the next day that when he woke up at six in the morning he couldn't go back to sleep. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was just unusually happy. He wasn't exactly sure what he was happy about, but it was enough to get him out of bed, the blond completely filled with energy.

After cleaning himself up, Luke rushed to his brother's room and pestered for Jack to wake up so they could get to school early.

Instead of obeying his brother's wishes, Jack groaned and turned his head so he was facing away from Luke.

The younger Hemmings pouted. "Jacky, wake up, please?"

"Another five minutes, Luke," Jack grumbled.

"Whenever you say that, you end up sleeping longer than five minutes," Luke pointed out. "Please? Get out of bed?"

"I can't get out of bed when you're literally on top of me now, can I?"

From hearing Jack's words, Luke realized that he was indeed lying on top of his older brother. He quickly scrambled off of him and stood straight up, his two feet touching sides. He watched as Jack mumbled some incoherent words and slowly rose from the bed, standing up and stretching his arms up in the air.

"Could you get me a shirt?" Jack questioned his younger brother. Luke nodded and hurried over to his brother's drawer, pulling out a light grey Nike tank top. Jack pulled that over his head and smoothed it out over his stomach before walking out the room, ruffling Luke's blond hair on his way out.

Luke frowned and tried to fix his hair the best he could. "My hair needs to be perfect, Jack," he complained as he followed his brother to the bathroom.

"It looks perfectly fine," the older Hemmings reassured, closing the door. "You can put your hair in whatever hairstyle you want and it'd still look nice."

"What about if I was bald?" Luke leaned against the wall next to the door, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the wall across from him.

"Then you'd still be good looking."

Luke nodded his head, despite Jack not being able to see him. He told his brother that he was going to get himself some breakfast and hurried to the kitchen. Their mom was still asleep in her room and Luke didn't want to disrupt her from her beauty sleep. He kind of wanted pancakes for breakfast, but he can wait another day for that.

Once he picked out Cinnamon Toast Crunch, he set the cereal box down on top of the table went over to the cabinet to get a bowl. Then he grabbed a spoon and placed that in the bowl, setting the items down next to the cereal. He went over to the refrigerator and opened it up to pull out a bottle of milk and then carried that back to the table.

After getting his breakfast ready, Luke heard his brother's footsteps grow louder as Jack entered the kitchen. He walked over to the cabinet and and drawer to grab a bowl and a spoon for himself, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. Then he went over to sit at the table Luke was at and he raised an eyebrow at his younger brother.

"You seem pretty happy right now," Jack said. "Is something exciting going to happen at school?"

"No," Luke answered, shaking his head. "I'm just really looking forward to school."

"There's something you don't hear every day. Does this have anything to do with Ashton, perchance?"

Luke rolled his eyes and said before stuffing his face with cereal, "Nobody says perchance anymore, Jacky."

"So it does involve Ashton." Jack smirked and leaned back in his seat, grabbing the Cinnamon Toast Crunch box and pouring the cereal into his bowl. 

The younger Hemmings blushed, staring down at his breakfast. "I don't know, but hurry up, because I want to get to school already." Once finishing the cereal pieces, Luke gulped down the cinnamon-flavored milk, standing up and carrying his bowl over to the sink while smacking his lips together.

"I just got down here." The older Hemmings frowned. "I didn't even get to pour the milk yet."

Luke groaned. "Fine. I'll wait." He quickly rinsed the water over the bowl he had just used and then went up to his room, stuffing all of his school stuff in his backpack and throwing the bag over his shoulder. His phone was still seated where he had left it last night and he picked that up, shoving it into his pocket.

Hurrying down the stairs, Luke saw that Jack was still in the process of eating his breakfast, and the younger brother was getting impatient. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was already nearing seven.

A sigh sounded and Luke glanced back over at his brother to see him sitting there like he was content with his life. Then he resumed to eating the cereal bits one by one. Luke was really sure that his brother was stalling on purpose.

Two minutes had went by before Jack was finally finished with eating the Cinnamon Toast Crunch pieces, but now he was taking his sweet time in drinking the milk.

"Jacky!" Luke snapped. "I know you're doing that on purpose!"

Jack set the bowl down, milk still inside said bowl, and then he looked at Luke. "Whatever do you mean, Lukey?"

The younger blond huffed. "Are you done yet?"

"Yeah, I am. Just let me put this in the sink." The older brother stood up from his spot, picked up his empty bowl, and brought it over to the sink. Then he went back over to the table and picked up the milk and cereal, putting them back where they belonged.

"Okay," Jack began, "now I need to get my backpack from upstairs, so be right back." He winked at Luke and started to slowly make his way to the room.

Yeah, Luke was now really sure Jack was intentionally doing this.

He stormed up behind his brother and started pushing him so he would walk faster to his room, the older Hemmings laughing at his brother's impatience.

"Why do you hate me?" Luke asked with a pout once the two brothers made it to Jack's room.

"I don't," Jack answered as he grabbed his backpack that was seated on his swivel chair.

"Then why are you purposely messing with me?"

"Because I love you, that's why. Come give me a hug." He walked over to Luke and spread his arms out, ready to engulf his brother in a long hug, but Luke just turned around and walked out of the room.

"Let's just go to school already," Luke said and Jack followed behind him. They walked out of the house and Jack made sure the door was locked before the two started walking

"Someone's excited to see Ashton," Jack teased, "but we have plenty of time to get to school. Besides, it's not like you're gonna miss Ashton or anything."

"I know. I just want to get to school early, that's all."

"Yeah, uh huh. Sure. Totally believe you."

Luke glared at Jack. "I don't like you. You're rude."

However, Jack just laughed. "Love you, too, baby brother."

Obviously, Luke loved his brother as well. He just said he didn't like him in a playful way. He would always love his brother no matter what happened. Nothing would change his mind on that.

Many minutes later, the two arrived at school and Luke's walking pace practically sped up as he got closer to the building, Jack catching up right behind him. When Luke entered the school, he went over to his locker and (just as he expected) saw Ashton standing there, looking like a lost puppy as he glanced from left to right.

Eventually Ashton's eyes met Luke's and smiles formed on both of their faces. Luke and Jack approached the smaller freshman who waved eagerly at them.

"Hi, Luke!" Ashton greeted happily. "Hi, Jack!"

"Hey," Luke said back, leaning against the locker next to his and placing his hands in his pockets. "How long have you been waiting?"

"Not long. Two minutes tops. Anyway, I'm hungry and I'm in desperate need of food. Can we go to the cafeteria and get something to eat?"

"Sure."

"Oh, actually," Jack spoke up and the other two looked over at him, "I'mma go meet up with some friends of mine. I'll see you two later."

Ashton pouted, but nodded as he said, "Okay. Bye, Jacky."

Luke raised an eyebrow. That was his nickname for his brother. Since when did Ashton start using it? But it was quite a common nickname to use, so he didn't think too much about it.

"See you, Ash," Jack said and the two stepped closer to each other and Luke's eyes widened and jaw dropped at what his brother did next.

Jack wrapped one arm around Ashton's waist and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the younger boy's cheek, Ashton giggling after and returning the gesture.

The sight hurt Luke's chest and he just stared at them as they seemed to act... coupley.

When they pulled away, Jack went to Luke and ruffled his hair. "Later, bro," he said with a smirk and then walked off.

Luke was still speechless after witnessing what just happened. Ashton stepped in front of him and waved a sweater-covered hand over Luke's face.

"Lukey, you okay?" Ashton asked.

"What just..." Luke began. "When did... You and Jack..."

Ashton tilted his head to the side. "Did he not tell you?"

"T-Tell me what?"

The shorter of the two tugged his bottom lip in between his teeth. Then he released it and answered, "Jacky and I are dating and have been since Friday night."


	13. Chapter 12

"Jacky and I are dating and have been since Friday night."

Luke couldn't believe what he just heard. He didn't want to believe what he just heard.

Jack--his own brother--and Ashton were together?

"Wh-Why didn't he tell me anything?" Luke asked, meaning that in two ways. One, Jack's his brother--they were supposed to tell each other everything. Luke even told him about his crush on Ashton. And two, _Luke told Jack about his crush on Ashton._

"Well, I don't know," Ashton said with a shrug, "but you know now, so that's good, right?" Instead of waiting for a response from Luke, he turned on his heels and continued his way to the cafeteria where he would get himself something to eat.

However, Luke's legs refused to move. He was too shocked to move. He never knew that Jack had feelings for Ashton as well. He had never said anything to Luke about liking Ashton, so the younger Hemmings kind of assumed that Jack didn't like him at all. But why did Jack start going out with Ashton the night Luke told him about his crush?

Luke felt a hand grab a hold of his wrist and the next thing he knew he was being led to the canteen by Ashton who giggled.

"You were supposed to follow me, silly," Ashton said. "Let's go get something to eat."

If Luke hadn't eaten breakfast at home that morning, he would have lost his appetite when Ashton revealed about being boyfriends with Jack. He just didn't understand anything at the moment and he felt as if he needed to talk to Jack about all of this.

When the two got to the cafeteria, Ashton went in line to get his food while Luke sat at an empty table, pulling out his phone and going to the messages between Jack and him. He sent a text that told his older brother to meet up with him at his locker during lunch.

Luke was going to get to the bottom of all of this and figure out what exactly is going on. 

-

The lunch bell rang and Luke told Ashton to go on ahead of him, because he had something to do. Ashton didn't question him and said that he'd get some food for Luke and himself.

Luke went to his locker and watched people pass by, hoping to see the familiar face of his older brother. He whipped out his phone and pressed the home button, sighing when he didn't get any text.

Jack never responded to Luke's message, so Luke wasn't entirely sure if Jack knew about meeting with the younger Hemmings. Jack always replied to Luke, whether he was busy or not, so not getting anything after four classes was kind of odd.

Leaning against the locker, Luke looked skywards and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Eventually, lunch was halfway through and there was still no sight of Jack. The blond let out a sigh, deciding to talk to his brother at home and then headed to the canteen.

When he arrived, he searched around the place for Ashton, finally spotting him. However, he wasn't alone.

Ashton was seated right next to Jack whose arm was slung around Ashton. Not only that, the two were laughing and at the table as well were Calum and some of Jack's friends. All of them were laughing and seeming to enjoy their time--especially Ashton as he leaned his head on Jack's shoulder.

He felt his heart hurt a bit, but it was mostly from how close Jack and Ashton were physically. He took in a deep breath before walking over to the table awkwardly. Everyone seized their conversation and glanced up at the blond boy who nervously smiled.

"H-Hi," he said.

"Hey," Jack said slowly. "What're you doing here?"

"I, um, need to speak to you about something."

"Who's that?" one of Jack's friends questioned. "Do you know him?"

Jack stood up and whispered something to Ashton who nodded. Then he told everyone at the table he'd be right back and then the two brothers walked out of the cafeteria until they were alone in the empty hallway.

"What is it, Luke?" Jack questioned, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I texted you this morning, telling you to meet me at my locker during lunch," Luke began. "Why didn't you respond? Heck, why didn't you even show up?"

"I didn't know what to respond with."

"A simple 'okay' would have sufficed."

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Jack rubbed the sides of his head. "Well, I'm here now. What do you want?"

"Why didn't you tell me you and Ashton were dating? Wait, don't answer that. Answer this one instead: I told you on Friday about my crush on him and that same evening you two started dating. You knew I liked him, so why did you still ask him out?"

"I don't know why you're assuming I'm the one who asked him out." Jack shook his head. "For all you know, Ashton could have asked me out."

Luke narrowed his eyes. "Did he?"

"No."

"Which brings us back to my question. Why did you ask him out, despite knowing about my crush on him?"

Jack stepped away from the wall and closer to Luke. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I like him, too?" he said. "What do you want me to do now? Break up with him, just because we both like him?"

"But you know that I like him and you still asked him out!"

"Okay, and?"

Luke had no idea what else to say. He just knew that he wasn't even sad at the fact that his brother and Ashton were together. He was more angry at how Jack kept quiet about his feelings for Ashton and decided to go out with the other boy the night Luke told him about his feelings.

"I just," Luke started, "I don't understand why you chose Friday night of all times to ask Ashton to be your boyfriend."

"Because," Jack said, "if I waited any longer, you would grow a pair and do it yourself. I had to make the move while I still had the opportunity. Just because you're my brother, doesn't mean I'll step aside so you can have him. Besides, he agreed to be my boyfriend, so now we know who he likes between the both of us."

The younger Hemmings balled his hands into fists as many emotions flooded inside him. Anger, hurt, and betrayal were the emotions that filled him the most.

"Now, if you will excuse me," Jack said, walking past Luke and heading back to the cafeteria. "I must get back to my friends and _my boyfriend._ "

Before this day, Luke never thought he could dislike his brother. But right now, the person he extremely disliked right now in the entire world was the one person he looked up to most.

He didn't feel like going back inside the cafeteria. He didn't even want to look at his brother after that conversation he had. Basically, what he got out of the whole thing was, Jack liked Ashton too and asked him out just so Luke wouldn't be able to.

However, Jack was right about one thing. Ashton never belonged to Luke, so Luke shouldn't even be angry in the first place. Jack may have known about Luke's crush, but it didn't make Ashton Luke's automatically.

Even though he shouldn't dislike his brother, he couldn't bring himself to like him at the moment either. Luke walked down the hallway and went straight to his locker. He really shouldn't, but right now Luke wanted to get away from school. From his brother. He'd have to face him when they return home, but whatever.

Once he was at his locker, Luke opened it up and started to shove his stuff inside his locker or his backpack. When he finished, he slammed his locker shut, but he let out a small shriek when he saw he was behind his locker door.

"Wow. You're grumpier than usual," Michael commented. "Mind telling me what's up?"

"You don't care," Luke muttered, turning his back to Michael and walking away.

"It wouldn't hurt to tell me, would it? Now, what's up?"

Luke stopped walking and stared down at the ground. He let out a sigh before turning to Michael. At the moment, he just wanted to get out of school, so instead of answering Michael's question, he grabbed the older boy's wrist and said, "Let's get out of here."

Michael's eyes widened in surprise, but soon a smirk found its way onto his face and he nodded. "I was gonna leave, anyway. Didn't want to be in this hell hole any longer."

So then the two boys left school without getting caught. Both of them had no idea where their feet were taking them--they just wanted to go somewhere far away.

-

Luke and Michael ended up on the other side of town and they weren't too familiar with their surroundings. Thankfully, they both had maps on their phones, so if they were to get lost they could simply type in their addresses and get home that way.

As the two were walking around, Michael said, "I honestly didn't think you'd want to ditch school after what happened last time. What made you want to ditch?"

The younger boy said, "Just wanted to get away from everything, that's all."

"I know how you feel. I get annoyed by everything--especially by Calum. He annoys the absolute shit out of me, and I just hate his very presence."

Luke looked over at Michael. "Do you really hate him?"

Michael looked annoyed when hearing the question. "Yes! I cannot emphasize how much I hate him. I was okay with him being my brother before, but then..." He trailed off and biting his lip before shaking his head. "Never mind. It's whatever. Just know that I hate him, okay?"

No words were said between the two after that for a while. They decided to go grab something to eat, since neither of them had anything from school. Luke was then reminded about how Ashton said he was going to get him lunch, but that was probably in the trash bin by now.

The two settled on getting some pizza, though Michael was the one who suggested it and Luke only agreed to it. They were currently sitting at a booth near the back of the pizzeria munching away on their Hawaiian pizza. Michael ate most of the slice while Luke was still on his first one, not even close to halfway finished.

His stomach was growling at him to feed it, but he was still too upset to eat. After Ashton telling him how he was dating Jack and that conversation Luke had with his brother, he really didn't want to do anything. He thought getting away from the school would help him out, but now he was even more sad than before.

"You look like you're going to cry."

Luke glanced up at Michael, seeing that the older boy was looking at him. He hastily wiped at his eyes to rid of it of any tears before they could fall. He just stared down at his unfinished pizza before saying, "I'm not crying."

"I didn't say you were. I said you looked like it. Now, what has been bothering you?"

"I just..." The younger boy took in a deep breath before letting it out. "There's this guy I like, and I told my brother about him. But the same night, he asked my crush out and now they're official."

Michael nodded his head like he understood what Luke had just told him. "I see. Breaking the Bro Code."

Raising an eyebrow, Luke asked, "The what code?"

"Bro Code. You know, if you like someone and you tell your bro, then your bro can't have that person? Look it up on Urban Dictionary. There are a lot of rules under the Bro Code, but that is just one of them."

"Oh. Then, yeah. He broke that."

Michael finished up his pizza and Luke set his slice down. He really didn't want to eat anymore. This was making his stomach even more upset.

"Anyway," the older boy began as he swallowed down the pizza that was in his mouth, "what your brother did is not cool at all. You pretty much called dibs on your crush, so your brother isn't even allowed to have him."

"But the guy I like is not a prize," Luke countered. "He's a person, like you and me, and he was never mine to begin with."

"Your brother still sucks."

Even though Luke didn't like Jack at the moment, he didn't like how Michael was talking about him. He frowned and said, "He doesn't suck. Yeah, maybe he broke this code that you mentioned earlier, but I've looked up to him all my life. He was always a good brother to me."

"Did you hear that?" Michael asked. "You said 'was.' He was a good brother to you. The Bro Code is, like, the code of all codes. Once it's broken, your relationship with your brother is over."

Luke really didn't like what he was hearing.

Michael rested his chin in his hand and his elbow on top of the table. "Also, did you know that there are punishments to breaking the Bro Code?"

The younger boy cocked a brow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Like... I don't know, punch him. Or kick your brother in the groin, but I don't recommend that. It hurts like a motherfucker."

"I'm not going to hurt my brother. I don't like him for what he did, but if I put that aside he's still my brother and I still care about him."

"If you're going to be like that, then suck it up and deal with it." Michael stood up from his seat and stretched his arms in the air. "Well, I'm bored hanging out with you. Let's just head home, yeah? Call it a day."

Luke tugged his bottom lip in between his teeth before getting onto his feet. The two left the uneaten pizzas and empty plates where they were for the commis waiter to clear the table, and then they walked out of the pizzeria.

Michael pulled out his phone so he could go to Google maps and type in his home address so he could get home, but his phone wouldn't turn on. He continuously pressed the home button, like that would do anything, but the screen still remained black.

He let out a loud groan, shoving his phone back in his his back pocket. "Guess that's what I get for forgetting a charger and using my phone all the time in class," he grumbled.

Luke went to check if his phone would was on, and thankfully he still had enough battery to last. He saw that they were at least thirty minutes away from his place, but he really didn't want to go home. That meant he'd have to face Jack.

Speaking of which, he looked at the time and saw that school was just finishing up and that meant Jack would find out he had ditched or had already found out. Unless he was too busy spending time with Ashton to even notice Luke was gone.

Just thinking of the two being together made Luke both annoyed and sad. He didn't realize he had loosened his grip on his phone before he felt it slip from his hand and he desperately tried to grab it before it hit the ground, but it was too late.

He let out a gasp at the sound of impact between his phone and the concrete and he quickly retrieved the rectangular device. Thankfully, it was still working, but the screen had cracked. He was annoyed that he zoned out and managed to crack his phone, but he at least could still see the directions that were displayed on his phone. That was enough for him.

"Nice job, butterfingers," Michael snorted, causing Luke to look over at him as the older boy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Which way is homewards?"

"Uh..." Luke looked down at his phone, trying to figure out which way he was to face. He zoomed in on the map and then found what he was looking for. He turned around, glanced up, and pointed his finger in front of him. "Head that way."

The two spent a good ten minutes following Luke's directions, but it wasn't until the ninth minute did they realize that they had absolutely no idea where they were.

"Give me your fucking phone," Michael growled as he snatched Luke's phone away from him. He glared down at the screen and used his fingers to zoom out and in on the map. "Luke, you fuckwad, you led us in the opposite direction of home."

"Oh. My bad."

The older boy groaned and shoved Luke's phone back at him. "What-fucking-ever. Let's get cab or some shit."

Luke felt really stupid then, but he was a bit distracted thinking about Ashton and Jack to really focus on where home was. Stupid him. Thanks to him getting lost in his thoughts, he got Michael and him lost in reality. 

As the two began walking again, Michael cursed, "Fucking damn it. Luke, I need your phone."

"O-Okay," Luke said as he gave his phone back to Michael, but he let go of his phone before Michael could even get a hold of it, and the device yet again fell straight to the ground.

"Luke, what the fuck!"

"Sorry!"

"Stop dropping your phone!"

"Sorry."

"And stop apologizing!"

"So--Okay."

Michael kneeled down to pick up Luke's phone, sighing in relief. "It didn't crack any more than it already did. Let's just get back home already."

Luke only nodded. Today just wasn't his day at all.

The older boy entered in his own address and then started to lead the two around town to get back to his place. After half an hour went by, they finally arrived in front of where Michael lived and Michael opened the front door, walking inside.

However, Luke shifted awkwardly on his two feet, because Michael was still holding his phone and he felt like if he called Michael out the older boy would just snap back at him. But then Michael turned around so he was facing Luke and motioned for him to go inside.

"What are you waiting for? Come in," he said, and Luke anxiously walked in the house.

Once Luke was inside, Michael closed the door and he led the younger boy to his room.

"Um, didn't you say you were bored of hanging out with me?" Luke reminded.

"Yes," Michael said, "but I'm not anymore, so let's play some games. How do you feel about Grand Theft Auto?"

"Uh--"

"Awesome. Let's go play."

That was how the two boys spent an hour or two in Michael's room (which was filled with a lot of Japanese related merchandise) wreaking havoc around Liberty City in GTA. Throughout the entire game they were like partners in crime, laughing whenever they jacked a car or exploded something, all that stuff. Luke was honestly having a good time and it helped stray his mind away from what bothers him. 

While the two were laughing aloud, the door swung open and Michael groaned, pausing the game and glaring in the direction of his door. "Can't you knock, knucklehead?"

Calum narrowed his eyes at Michael, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know you ditched school again. You really need to stop."

"So? It's none of your business."

"No, but Mom and Dad will be mad when they find out."

" _If_ they find out. They weren't even home when I got here and they won't know unless you snitch on me. Besides, I don't care if they get mad at me." Then he grumbled, "I can't disappoint them any more than I already do."

Calum sighed. "Michael--"

"Get out. I want to be alone."

The brunet looked over at the freshman boy who had stayed quiet the entire time Calum was here. He shook his head before leaving, leaving the door open.

Luke looked over at Michael and saw that he was hanging his head, his hair concealing his eyes from Luke's sight. The younger boy awkwardly cleared his throat and said, "D-Do you want me to leave, too? Since you want to be alone?"

"Yes," Michael said, "that'd be greatly appreciated."

The blond nodded, standing up from where he was going to exit Michael's room, giving the older boy one last glance before picking up his backpack and shutting the door.

He swung said backpack over his shoulder and went straight to the front door, but then someone cleared their throat and Luke turned to see Calum leaning against the wall.

"Let me give you a lift," Calum said, stepping away from the wall and going over to the younger boy. "I don't think I ever caught your name."

"Uh, L-Luke," the blond answered.

Calum simply nodded. "Well, Luke, I'mma give you a ride home."

Before Luke could protest, Calum walked past him and was outside. Luke just silently accepted the offer and closed the front door after him, going to where Calum was about to climb inside a car.

Once the blond was in the passenger's seat, Calum turned on the engine and then asked Luke, "So where do you live?"

Luke began to fish inside his pocket for his phone, mentally thanking Michael for returning it to him earlier while they were playing Grand Theft Auto. He entered in his address and then showed it to the older boy who nodded and went to the maps to get the directions.

"So, did you ditch with Michael?" Calum asked and Luke was honestly not expecting the older boy to say that.

"I-I asked him to ditch with me," Luke said, deciding to defend Michael. "He didn't want to, but I kept insisting and he finally agreed."

Calum just nodded. "Sounds kind of odd, especially in Michael's case, but all right then." He put the car on reverse and started to back out of the spot he was parked in and then started to drive off in the direction of Luke's place.

The car ride there was silent for the most part, the only sound playing was the radio that was playing Ed Sheeran on low volume. A little halfway there when they were stopped at a red light, Calum sighed loudly.

"Why can't I talk to him?" Calum said, slamming his forehead against the steering wheel.

"Are you talking about Michael?" Luke asked, glancing between the brunet and the streetlight to make sure that if it were to turn green the younger boy would let Calum know.

"Yes! He's just so... stubborn! He doesn't care about anything but Japan and I just... I'm trying to get closer to him. I want him to know that I'm someone he can trust and rely on and that if he ever needs someone, I'm there for him."

Calum looked up just in time for the light to turn green and he resumed driving. "I'm really bad at this stuff, trying to be the older sibling when all my life I've been the youngest one. Michael just hates my guts and I don't know what to do. I want him to like me by the time I get him plane tickets to Japan."

Luke bit his bottom lip, because he didn't know what else to say. He was always the youngest in the family and he still was. He didn't know what kind of advice he could give to Calum.

However, his mind started to wander to Jack, how before today he was always an awesome big brother to Luke. He smiled at the good memories the two had, and he tried to use those to apply to the what he could say.

"Well," Luke began, "I have an older brother and he treats me nicely and does whatever I ask him. I remember when I was younger, he and I were playing in the park and I fell and hurt myself. He carried me all the way home on his back."

"That's nice. What about now?" Calum asked, seeming to be intrigued by what Luke was telling him.

Luke didn't want to say anything bad about his brother, so he tried to look for something nice to say. "He makes me feel better, takes care of me, and he still is my favorite older brother ever. He's my only brother, but still."

Calum nodded his head. "I could use some help from your older brother. How old is he?"

"Sixteen."

"He goes to our school?"

"Yeah."

"What's his name?"

The blond furrowed his eyebrows. "His name's Jack. You know him. You two sat at the same table together at lunch."

Calum's eyes widened. "Whoa, Jack is your brother?! I never even knew he had a younger brother, and I've known him since freshman year."

Luke felt his chest ache from hearing that. "H-He never mentioned me at all?"

"Not once. Wow, what kind of brother doesn't even bring up his own family?" The brunet just shook his head. "I mean, Michael isn't exactly the best person, but at least I'm okay with calling him my brother. Though, he thinks otherwise. He believes he's unfortunate to be stuck with me."

The two laughed, and then Calum pulled up in front of Luke's house, the younger boy thanking him as he gathered his stuff and stepped out of the car.

"Oh, Luke?" Calum spoke up, Luke looking at him. "Thanks. I don't know why Jack never talked about you, but if you were my brother I'd show you off to everyone."

Luke smiled and then waved, saying bye to Calum and then closing the car door. The brunet drove off and Luke went to his front door, pulling out the house key and letting himself inside.

He noticed the house was empty, but he shrugged and went straight to his room. He plopped his stuff on the ground and hopped on top of his bed. He grabbed his phone and was about to open up a game to play before he heard the front door open again.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Luke got off his bed and went to see who was him. He stopped where he was when he saw Jack at the door and Ashton by his side, Luke's older brother's arm over Ashton's shoulder.

"Hey, Lukey!" Ashton greeted with a smile, but then it fell. "You never came back to get your food. And you missed classes after lunch."

"Really?" Jack said, looking at Luke with a raised brow.

"Oh, I was feeling sick, so I went home."

The older Hemmings nodded. "Mom picked you up or something?"

"Uh, I walked."

"I see." Jack didn't look like he was buying into Luke's lie--Luke could tell. "Well, if you need me, I'll be in my room with my _boyfriend_. You know, just doing stuff. No big deal."

Luke narrowed his eyes at his brother who walked past him. Ashton gave Luke a glance back before the couple disappeared behind the corner.

And maybe Luke punched the wall and hurt his knuckles, but he was mad again. So he stormed up to his room and locked himself inside for the rest of the night, skipping dinner just to avoid having to see his brother.

Today, Luke marked this very day as the worst day in his entire life.


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I've finally updated after all these years, omg.

Luke did his best to ignore his brother over the past week. However, Jack didn't even try to talk to his younger brother, since his mind was always focused on his boyfriend. And the fact that Jack and Ashton were publicly displaying affection towards one another was not helping Luke at all. If anything, it made it worse for him and it made it even more difficult for him to ignore the couple.

But when Jack wasn't around, Ashton would immediately go to Luke and talk about whatever came across his mind--most of the time it being Jack. Luke felt as if he was just a second choice to Ashton, but at least he wasn't on bad terms with Ashton.

"And Jack is going to take me out to dinner this Saturday," Ashton said in his usual chirpy voice. "I'm looking forward to it, too!"

"Yeah, that's great," Luke grumbled, but added a smile to make his statement seem genuine.

"Then afterwards he's going to take me somewhere else, but he said that it was a surprise." Ashton giggled. "I wonder what he's going to surprise me with!"

"Uh huh."

"Do you think you can tell me a little bit more about Jack? Wait, no. Ignore that. I can just ask him myself--"

"Ashton," Luke interrupted, making the other boy look at him, "in case you've forgotten, we're in the school library."

Ashton slowly looked around, seeing that some other students were looking at him with weird faces, others staring at him like he was a disgrace, and other's immediately turning their eyes away.

"If you want to talk about Jack, then do it any other time and any other place but now and here," Luke went on, looking down at the paper in front of him and writing down on it. "In the mean time, I'm trying to study for the test we have tomorrow." He quickly glanced up at Ashton who was looking at him. "Shouldn't you be studying, too?"

"What are we studying for again?" Ashton questioned, tilting his head to the side.

Annoyed with his _brother's_ boyfriend, Luke let out a sigh and slammed the pencil in his hand down. "I get you're only here because you're waiting for Jack and I'm his brother, but the least you can do is study for our English test tomorrow."

Snorting, Ashton said, "What's there to study for? It's just English."

"Then what is the significance of this quote?" Luke opened his backpack that was on top of the table, pulled out a textbook, and flipped to the page regarding his question. Once he found what he was looking for, he handed the book to Ashton whose eyes were then looking down at what was before him. Luke pointed at the text that quoted 'A little more than kin, and less than kind.'

Ashton blinked. "I, uh..." He scratched the back of his neck. "O-Okay. I'll get to studying."

"Acts one, two, and three, by the way," Luke reminded and Ashton muttered in understanding, the two saying nothing afterwards.

For the next couple of minutes, Luke and Ashton sat in silence. After a while, Luke glanced up from his work at the other boy. He could tell that Ashton wasn't studying--if anything, he was clearly staring blankly at the textbook. But Luke didn't mention anything; instead, he just sighed, shaking his head and scribbling more notes down.

Before, Luke could listen to Ashton talk for hours, no matter what the topic was. But ever since the big news Ashton told him a few days ago, he couldn't stand it whenever the other boy spoke. It wasn't because he loathed Ashton--if anything, it was the complete opposite. He _really liked_ Ashton, but Ashton was Jack's boyfriend and not Luke's. He couldn't have feelings for his brother's boyfriend (even if the one person he looked up to his whole life stabbed him in the back).

Whenever Ashton spoke, it only reminded Luke about the fact that Ashton was his _brother's_ and not _his_. He had felt pain in his chest before (for example, when he once got scolded at by his first grade teacher for using a crayon to do his homework (his current thought about that situation: at least he _did_ his homework)), but nothing like this. He had never felt so betrayed or heartbroken by anyone before, so experiencing both at once had a huge, negative effect on him.

However, when Luke thought it over, he couldn't blame Ashton for all of this. He shouldn't even take his anger out on him at all, even if he did unintentionally bring pain upon him. Ashton was a good guy and he was Luke's friend (sadly to Luke). Just because Ashton didn't like Luke the same way Luke liked him, it didn't mean that things had to be different between each other.

Luke didn't know how long he could keep up the facade where he acted as if he didn't have any romantic feelings for his friend, but he was willing to give it all that he had. If it meant that Ashton could be a part of his life, he was going to suck it up and not let his crush and his brother's relationship affect him whatsoever.

Before Luke could apologize for his behavior towards Ashton, he saw from the corner of his eye that Jack had entered the library. He felt another sharp pang in his chest, but he willed himself to keep himself composed. Especially when Jack snuck behind Ashton and planted a kiss to his cheek.

Ashton giggled and turned his head, smiling at his boyfriend. "Hi, Jacky," he said.

"Hey, Ash," Jack said, grinning. His eyes then looked over at Luke. "Hey, bro."

"Jack," Luke greeted bitterly, forcing a smile on his face.

However, Jack saw through Luke and his smile fell. He cleared his throat before bringing his lips close to Ashton's ear. "I'mma go wait outside for you. Don't be long."

"Okay." Ashton beamed as he gleefully cleaned up his side of the table. Luke, on the other hand, had already begun packing and shoved all of his things in his backpack without a care before swinging that over his shoulder and storming out of the place before Jack could even utter another word.

Luke pushed open the library door, albeit rather roughly since the librarian hushed him from behind the desk. The blond only let out a frustrated groan once the door closed itself.

There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that the not-letting-his-brother-and-crush-dating-each-other-bother-him crap wasn't going to work.

-

Luke wished he was anywhere but at home.

He could hear his brother and Ashton laughing in the next room and that was keeping him from concentrating on studying for his English test. At one point he settled on blasting music in his ears, but that didn't help him focus on his studies at all. And if he lowered the volume, he would unfortunately hear the indistinct conversation the couple were having. (The downside of having thin walls.)

It was past seven, so heading over to the public library was out of the question. He didn't exactly have any friends to study with, so he couldn't just go to someone else's house. Working anywhere else but his room at home didn't feel right for some odd reason.

In the end, Luke decided to just take a break now and study later when he could concentrate better. He shoved everything away from him and buried his face in his hands, an annoyed sigh escaping past his lips.

"This sucks," he grumbled, rubbing his hands up and down his face. He dropped one hand against the table and opened his eyes to stare at nothing in particular. His vision was blurry, so he rubbed at his eyes, standing up and plopping onto his back on top of his bed.

He heard his bedroom door open, but he didn't even glance in the direction of the entrance. The sound of a voice being cleared made Luke look over at the door.

"Luke, dinner's ready," said Liz as she leaned against the wall. "Come downstairs and eat."

"Not that hungry, mom," Luke said, turning onto his side and curling up.

There was silence at first before Liz spoke, "You need to eat something. It isn't good for your stomach."

Luke said nothing. He just sighed and slowly got up from his bed, staggering onto his feet and making his way towards the door.

As he passed his mother, Luke heard Liz ask, "Are you okay, dear?"

"Couldn't be better," Luke answered without giving his mom a glance.

He ran his fingers through his blond hair as he entered the dining room, seeing a bowl of chicken Caesar salad sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, a pitcher of orange juice, and a bottle of ranch dressing.

Jack and Ashton were already sitting at the table, their plates filled with salad and their cups with orange juice. The two, much to Luke's dismay, were acting all lovey-dovey together, and Luke felt his heart drop.

"Okay, Luke," said Liz, "grab a plate and start digging in."

Luke looked over at his mom briefly before his eyes went back to Ashton whose smile was wide and genuine. He really looked like he was having fun with his boyfriend--Luke's own brother.

The younger Hemmings just shook his head, forcing himself to avoid looking at the couple. He grabbed a plate and started piling it with salad. He started adding ranch over it and then set his plate down so he could get himself a glass of orange juice.

He was doing rather well at ignoring the couple, until Jack said aloud, "Hey, babe, are you ready for this Saturday?"

Liz looked at her eldest son. "Oh, what's going on Saturday?"

Ashton beamed as he said excitedly, "Jacky and I are going out on a date! He's taking me to dinner and then afterwards he's going to take me somewhere special!"

"That's sounds lovely." Liz smiled.

"It is! I've never been on a date, so I'm really looking forward to it."

Jack nodded. "I'm going to make sure that Ash has the time of his life."

Luke squeezed at the pitcher's handle, trying not to lose composure. He felt like Jack was purposely talking about this just to annoy Luke, but he wasn't going to let his brother get to him.

"Well, I'm happy for you two," Liz said. She then looked over at Luke. "What about you, Luke? Do you have your eyes on someone?"

"No, I don't," Luke lied. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and then picked up the plate and glass as he said, "Excuse me, but I have to go back to my room to study."

Liz shook her head. "You stay here and eat your dinner."

"I have an English test tomorrow and I need to use up as much time as I can to study." 

"I was not asking you, Luke Robert Hemmings." She then gestured over to where Ashton was. "We have a guest. Be respectful and eat here in the dining room."

Luke winced at the tone his mom was using. He really wanted to be in his room where he was by himself and not in the presence of Jack and Ashton, but he wasn't going to fight with his mom.

Defeated, Luke just nodded his head and sat himself down at the seat across from Ashton. He briefly glanced up and noticed that Ashton was looking back at him, his expression appearing as if he was worried about Luke.

"Luke, you've been cooped up in your room since we got home today," Jack pointed out. "It's best if you come out once in a while."

"Says the one who locked himself in his room with his boyfriend," Luke muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing that matters to you." Luke picked up a fork and stabbed his salad with it, managing to pick up a bunch of lettuce and a piece of chicken.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Luke wanted to so badly shout out 'You're wrong!' but he held his tongue. He wasn't going to blow up at his brother. There was no point in doing so.

When Jack saw that Luke wasn't going to answer him and instead eat his dinner, he shook his head and dropped the subject. 

For the rest of dinner it was silent, and the two brothers felt tension between the two, but neither did anything to lift it. Every once in a while one would glance at the other or the two would make eye contact, making both of them look away immediately.

As everyone was almost finished with eating their dinner, Ashton said, "Thank you for letting me have dinner with you."

Liz smiled gently and responded, "It's no problem, dear. Would you like me to take you home?"

"A-Actually, I was wondering if I could stay the night."

Luke just rolled his eyes when he saw the smug grin on his brother's face when Ashton said that. He ate up the last bits of his dinner before grabbing his glass of orange juice and chugging it down.

"I don't know," Liz answered, "are your parents okay with this? It is a school night, after all."

Ashton nodded. "I know, and I'm sure that my parents don't mind."

Liz thought about it for a while before she finally said, "Okay. Just make sure your parents know where you are."

"So, where's Ashton going to sleep?" Jack spoke up. "Should he stay with in my room?"

"Absolutely not," Liz said sternly. "I don't want you two sleeping together. Ashton is going to stay on the couch. Or do you want to sleep on the couch and Ashton can take your bed for the night?" 

The youngest Hemmings finished his drink and then stood up from his seat, walking over to the kitchen where he would put his dishes into the sink. He was going to wash them, but decided not to, because he didn't want to listen in on the conversation his mom, Jack, and Ashton were having.

Before Luke could rush off to his room, he heard Ashton suggest, "May I stay in Luke's room?"

Luke froze in his steps, eyes going wide at what he had just heard.

"Why?" Jack questioned, his tone sounding as if he was against the idea.

"Well, Luke and I are in the same English class, so I think he and I should study for the test together."

Liz sighed and said, "And you didn't study with him earlier, because..."

"I should have studied earlier, but I will now. Plus, Luke and I can help each other with what we're studying for."

Luke was against the idea, to say the least. Sure, he would like to spend some more time with Ashton (even if the time was to be spent on studying), but then he would be reminded about the fact that Ashton was Jack's boyfriend, and that would distract him from studying.

Before Luke could protest once he returned to the dining room, Liz said, "Okay, you can stay in Luke's room, but only to study and sleep before two." She glanced over to Luke. "No funny business, young man."

"You heard her, Luke," Jack said, his eyes looking at his brother. "No funny business."

Luke snorted and snapped, "Like I'm going to pull a move on your boyfriend." Saying that last part was like a stab to the chest.

The older Hemmings brother shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did."

"Okay, is there something I don't know here?" Liz asked, looking back and forth between Luke and Jack.

"It's nothing," Luke immediately answered, turning on his heels and storming off to his room, grumbling to himself about how much his brother was pissing him off.

Once he got to his room, he slammed the door shut and made his way to his bed, roughly grabbing his pillow and digging his nails into it.

He gritted his teeth and then growled, "Stupid Jack. What's wrong with him?"

The sound of the doorknob being twisted and the door opening made Luke glance up, seeing Ashton poking his head through the gap.

"Hey, Lukey," Ashton said quietly, entering the room and then closing the door behind him. "You want to study for tomorrow's test now?"

Luke's angered expression softened and he let out a sigh, placing his pillow back where it belonged and walked over to his desk where his English supplies were. He didn't answer Ashton--instead he just took a seat in the chair and then pulled the textbook and papers closer to him. He picked up the pencil and started twirling in his fingers, his eyes staring down.

He felt Ashton's presence next to him, but he willed himself to not look at the other boy. He brought the graphite end of the pencil to the paper, but wrote nothing. His mind was all over the place and he couldn't focus on anything, let alone studying for the test.

"Is something the matter?" Ashton questioned, inching closer to Luke. "You don't seem okay."

"I'm fine, Ashton," Luke said, but he could feel his chest pounding when Ashton's arm was touching his.

"... Did I do something wrong?"

That made Luke glance over in Ashton's directions, his eyes looking at Ashton's hands that were clasped together.

"Are you mad at me?" Ashton said. "Do you not like me anymore?"

_The complete opposite, actually._

Instead he said, "Don't worry about it, okay? Let's just study." He turned back to the paper, leaning away from Ashton and propping his head in the palm of his hand.

"Lukey, I'm sorry if I upset you," Ashton went on. "Is there something I can do to make you forgive me?"

Luke sighed, turning himself around and looking up at the other boy. "Ash, stop--"

But when he looked into Ashton's hazel eyes, the words he wanted to say became a lump in his throat. Ashton appeared hurt and he looked as if tears were starting to develop in his eyes. Luke didn't have the heart to tell Ashton to leave him alone, even though a part of him wants to.

Ashton knew nothing about Luke's feelings and he probably would never know. To Ashton, Luke was just a friend, but even so Luke could tell that Ashton truly valued their friendship and that he wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize it, despite the fact that him being with Luke's own brother was already affecting Luke so much.

"I'm so--" Ashton began, but couldn't go on. This time the tears in his eyes got bigger and they began to stream down his cheeks.

Without a second thought Luke stood up, pushing back the chair he was in, and wrapped his arms protectively around Ashton who immediately buried his face in Luke's shoulder.

"It's not your fault," Luke said reassuringly. He combed his fingers through Ashton's hair and gulped nervously when he felt the other boy's arms go around him as well. "You did nothing wrong."

"Pl-Please don't h-hate me," Ashton whimpered.

"I don't hate you, Ash, okay? I just--" He stopped himself, not wanting to say anything he was going to regret. He chose to change the subject, drawing away from Ashton who wiped his teary eyes with the back of his hand. "Do you want to go wash your face? After that, we'll study for tomorrow's English test. Okay?"

Ashton sniffled, but he managed to smile. "Okay," he answered.

"You go to the bathroom. I'll wait here for you to come back and then we can start studying."

Ashton nodded his head and then left, Luke watching until Ashton couldn't be seen. Once the other boy was out of sight, Luke sat down in the chair again, turned to face the desk, and slammed his head against it.

He let out a groan, because at this rate his feelings for Ashton were never going to go away. Getting over his crush on Ashton was going to be a lot harder than Luke anticipated.


	15. Chapter 14

Luke had a pretty big bed. It was big enough for him and maybe another person who was his height--even a little bit taller. He wanted a smaller bed--maybe a twin--but instead he got a queen. He wasn't complaining, but he just had so much room he didn't need.

However, when his alarm went off and he opened his eyes, he tried to move around but then realized that he was squished in between a wall and what felt like a body. His eyebrows furrowed and he turned his head back to see who was leaving him no room to move. Although, he should've known who it was.

There he saw a peaceful Ashton curled up into a ball and lightly snoring. Luke had his back facing him, but Ashton was snuggled up to Luke as close as possible while also hogging the entire blanket. 

Luke usually didn't like it when he was given little to no blanket at all, but in Ashton's case, he was going to let it slide. Plus, Ashton looked kind of adorable.

After a while, Luke slowly sat upright and let out a yawn. He didn't want to crawl over Ashton, so he went to the foot of the bed and got off of it that way. As he was walking over to the door of his room, he stubbed his little toe against the leg of the bed, causing him to immediately stop in his track and his eyes to widen.

He felt the excruciating pain after a second and he sucked in a deep breath so he wouldn't yelp out in pain. Even though he had just banged his toe hard against the bed, the last thing he wanted to do was wake Ashton up.

Instead, he took a seat on the ground, brought the neck of his shirt up to his mouth and bit down on it to suppress any noise from coming out of his mouth. 

When the pain subsided, Luke let out puffs of air before standing up and slowly making his way over to the door.

Luke walked out of his room and then shut the door behind him, going over to the bathroom so he could wash himself up. When he twisted the knob, he found that it was locked. A while later the door swung open and there walked out his brother who was only wearing jeans that were hanging a little bit loose on his waist.

"Hey, Luke," Jack said, running his fingers through his hair.

Luke glared at his brother before shoving past him and slamming the door behind him so he wouldn't have to deal with his brother.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Jack joked, chuckling after before walking off. Luke just placed his hands over the marble counter, narrowing his eyes at his reflection.

For a moment, Luke almost forgot that he hated his brother, but then seeing his face made him remember that the two weren't on the best terms, and it was all over a boy that the both of them had a crush on.

Luke furiously brushed his teeth for a good five minutes--blaming his older brother for ruining the morning with his presence--before he washed his face and returned to his bedroom, seeing that Ashton was no longer under the blankets, but sprawled across the bed like a starfish.

Ashton was still sound asleep, snoring away from all of the trouble in the world. He didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon--even though the alarm went off a second time after a ten minute snooze.

Luke walked over to the bed and then leaned over Ashton, bringing his hand up and placing it on the smaller boy's side. He gently shook Ashton and said, "Rise and shine, sleepyhead."

All Ashton did was groan, turning on his side and curling up into a ball. Luke rolled his eyes and poked at the sleeping boy as an attempt to wake him.

"Come on, Ash," he pleaded, "we have a test today and I'd rather you be there to take it."

Ashton didn't budge, making Luke sigh in annoyance. He glanced over at the clock and saw that it was a quarter until seven. If Ashton didn't wake up soon, he was going to have to leave Ashton behind. Besides, Jack could accompany him. After all, they were dating.

Giving up attempting to wake up the sleeping boy, Luke decided to head to the kitchen so he could eat breakfast. He opened the refrigerator, but found nothing that he wanted to eat. Yes, the refrigerator was completely filled up with things his mom bought from the grocery stores along with leftovers from previous nights, but he didn't crave any of those things.

In the end, Luke settled with Lucky Charms. The milk bottle was almost empty, but it was enough for his cereal. He grabbed a bowl and started to fill it with Lucky Charms and pour the rest of the milk in it. After that, he tossed the bottle into the sink, hearing it bang against other dishes. He then went over to the drawer, grabbed a spoon, and then went back to his bowl of cereal and started eating it.

The time was getting closer to seven when Luke was halfway with his cereal. He then heard footsteps, but judging from the pattern of the steps he could tell it was his brother. (Considering he had been living with Jack his entire life, of course he'd remember the sound of his brother's steps.)

Jack went over to the refrigerator and peeked inside. Then he said, "Darn. We ran out of milk."

Luke snorted as he grumbled, "Sucks to suck."

"Did you say something, baby bro?"

"No." Luke finished up his cereal before carrying the bowl and spoon over to the sink, placing it inside and rinsing it with water.

"Oh, so you finished the milk?" Jack questioned before shrugging. "Whatever. I'll just have myself an omelette." He then grabbed two eggs and a stick of butter from the refrigerator before shutting it and walking over to the counter by the stove.

Luke watched his brother's back as the older Hemmings grabbed a small bowl and cracked the eggs inside it before grabbing a whisk and mixing in it. Seeing his brother in the middle of preparing himself breakfast made Luke think back to when Jack once ate the last Nature Valley bar and Luke was really sad, but Jack made him fluffy buttermilk pancakes and everything between them was good.

Luke missed those days when his brother wasn't such an asshole towards him.

Peeling his eyes away from his brother's bare back, Luke shook his head and walked out of the kitchen, but not before hearing his brother call out, "Hey, Luke. Can you go wake Ashton up? It's almost time to leave for school."

The younger Hemmings didn't respond to Jack. He continued walking to his room and there he saw that Ashton was now sleeping on the ground, but still wrapped in the blanket. Luke chose to ignore him and went over to where his clothes were. He pulled off his current shirt and dropped it to the ground before grabbing another shirt that was blank and grey.

Once that shirt was on, he grabbed a pair of blue jeans and was about to slip those on before he heard someone giggle and say, "Good morning, Lukey."

His face flushed red and Luke immediately turned himself around, seeing Ashton had propped his head in the palm of his hand and was raising his eyebrows at Luke.

"Ash, what the heck!" he exclaimed. "Of all times you wake up, it had to be now?"

"I know, right? How lucky am I!" Ashton sat upright and stretched his arms outwards.

Luke shook his head, but proceeded to pull up his jeans. He then grabbed a belt and pulled that through the loops before buckling it. "Anyway, you better go clean yourself up now. If you don't, then we'll be late for school. Or you can just go walk to school with Jack. I want to be at school early." He picked out a navy blue zip-up hoodie and threw that on.

Suddenly, Ashton gasped and immediately scrambled off the ground as he exclaimed, "Wait, I'll go with you!" Then he rushed off to the bathroom and locked the door after.

Shaking his head, Luke ran his fingers through his hair before walking over to where his backpack was. All of his English supplies were scattered all over the place, so he took this time to pack everything in order for him to be ready to go to school.

It was ten minutes after seven and Ashton was still in the bathroom. Luke was getting impatient and wanted to head to school already, but another part of him (the one that still cared deeply for the other boy) told him to wait a little longer. He was pretty much internally arguing with himself whether he should wait for Ashton or not. Even though this had been cut off by when Ashton got out of the bathroom, it was clear which side had won.

"Okay, I'm ready, Lukey!" Ashton beamed as he went over to where Luke was closing his backpack.

Luke sent him a smile before swinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Great. Let's get going."

The two exited the room and were about to head out the door before they heard, "Wait up, Luke!"

Upon hearing his name, Luke turned around, only to find himself glowering at his older brother who was throwing on a maroon slouch beanie.

"Ready to go," Jack said with a smile as he walked beside Ashton, the shorter boy looking up at him and smiling widely.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

For the rest of the trip, Luke made sure he didn't fall behind the couple. He didn't even want to see them. It was bad enough he could hear them giggling.

They were being adorable, and it was sickening to Luke.

By the time they got to school, Luke went to his locker and Jack and Ashton followed behind him. Rolling his eyes, Luke opened his locker and pulled his backpack in front of him.

"I'm going to go now, babe," Jack said. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," Ashton said happily. Luke heard the sound of a kiss and his hold on his Geometry book grew tighter.

After the couple separated, Luke shut his locker and turned himself around to Ashton and said, "I'm gonna go to the cafeteria and study some more for English."

Ashton grinned. "Okay."

Luke walked past Ashton, running his fingers through his hair. He caught sight of Calum walking towards him with his friends around him. The two locked eyes for a moment before the older boy waved at Luke with a small smile on his face. Luke instinctively smiled and waved back.

Little did Luke know, Ashton was right behind him and had noticed this and confusion was written on his face. He wasn't aware that Luke and Calum were even on good terms, considering how Luke tackled Calum at the mall.

Ashton quickly walked next to Luke and asked, "You two are friends?"

"Hm?" Luke turned his head to look at Ashton. "Who? Calum?"

"That one guy you waved at just now."

"Oh. Yeah, that's Calum. We've been friends for a while. We agreed that we started off on the wrong foot, so we're wiping the slate clean."

"I see."

"You know, when we were at the mall and he shoved you, he didn't mean it."

"Okay."

"He's actually a really nice guy. He just gets angry whenever Michael is involved."

Ashton's eyebrows furrowed. "Uh huh."

"I mean, Michael gets angry a lot, but more often than Calum. Those two really are brothers, albeit not by blood. To me, Calum is more likable than Michael, but my opinion on them could change once I get to know the both of them a whole lot more."

"That's nice."

Luke stopped walking and stood in front of Ashton, making the shorter boy halt in place. "Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine," Ashton answered, smiling widely at Luke. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Luke could have sworn that Ashton looked upset when he looked at him. "You sure?"

"Positive."

Luke was about to say something else before he felt a pair of hands latch onto his arm, pulling him backwards and towards another body. He looked behind him and saw Michael whose eyes were looking at Ashton.

"I'mma steal him for a little bit, 'kay?" Michael said. "Thanks, man. You're the best." Then he started to drag Luke away.

"Michael, let go! People are staring!" Luke yelled, his eyes looking over at Ashton who was still standing where he was. Ashton's eyes were wide and he looked like a puppy that just realized it was abandoned.

By the time Luke and Michael rounded a corner, Luke shook Michael's hands off of him and stood up straight, smoothing out his jacket. "If you wanted me to follow you, all you had to do was ask!"

"This is urgent," Michael said.

"It couldn't have waited until lunch?"

Michael shook his head. "It's about Calum. Look!" He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and went to his photo gallery. He pulled up a picture of what looked like another phone with the texting app open.

Luke raised a brow as he took the phone from Michael, reading the texts to someone named Mayme.

To Luke, the messages didn't seem out of the ordinary. It was just a casual conversation between two friends. Asking how their day was, anything going on with their lives, that kind of stuff.

"I don't get it," Luke said, taking his eyes off the phone and looking at Michael with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong with this?"

"Mayme is Calum's ex-girlfriend," Michael explained. "They only dated for four months earlier this year. When they broke up, Calum wouldn't stop moping and crying for weeks. It was so irritating I actually comforted him just to get him to stop, and I hate the guy!"

Luke blinked. "Okay?"

"Then out of the blue, they start talking again and Calum has been super smiley lately. Clearly, he's not over her. I need you to help me make them stop talking."

"Michael, I don't think interfering with your brother's relationship with other people is a good idea."

"He's not my brother. He's an annoying fuck. And I don't want him to go back to being all sad and shit over this chick when he realizes that he still likes her. I don't need to deal with it again."

"This has nothing to do with you."

"Yes, it does! We live with each other, and I have to deal with his presence every day!"

Processing all of this, Luke narrowed his eyes at Michael, a small smirk appearing on his face. "Are you... actually worried about your brother's well-being?"

Michael was taken aback by Luke's question. Defensively, he snapped, "No! I couldn't care less about his happiness."

"You don't have to lie, you know. Your secret's safe with me."

"I'm not lying, you turd! I just don't want to deal with his sadness, because it's annoying and I hate it."

Sighing, Luke handed the phone back to Michael. "I don't know why you're asking me to help. I think you're more than capable to do this yourself."

"Because I consider you as a... close acquaintance, that's all." The older boy leaned against the wall, his green eyes staring down at the ground.

Luke couldn't help but smile. "Aww, I consider you a close acquaintance, too." He went to hug Michael, only to be pushed away by him.

"Ugh, don't be a sappy shit," Michael grumbled. "Now, can we go get food? I'm starving. I got ready and left for school before Calum could even wake up."

Nodding his head, Luke watched as Michael turned himself around, although he didn't start walking. After a moment, Michael quickly faced Luke and gave him a brief hug before hurrying away to the cafeteria, like he was embarrassed to even be seen with the younger boy.

Luke was now gushing at Michael's adorableness. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked down at the ground, shaking his head. "God, he's so cute," he said to himself before following after Michael.

He was so happy about how Michael was warming up to him, Luke didn't notice that he had walked right past Ashton who was leaning against the wall and waiting patiently for Luke, his backpack held close to his chest as his hazel eyes staring blankly at the toes of his shoes that were touching each other.

-

After the lesson in Geometry, the class was given time to do homework and allowed to work with other people. Instead of scooting his seat to the left where Ashton was, Luke actually turned himself around to work on the assignment with Michael. Although Michael had been reluctant to even start on the homework at all, he would ask Luke for help once in a while (or maybe for every single question).

"How is it that you understand this?" Michael questioned as he drew random circles on his homework.

"It's not that hard to understand. It's just Geometry," Luke said, shrugging.

" _Just Geometry?_ " Michael's eyes went wide. "Did you hear yourself? Are you even human?"

"Less talking, more working." Luke laughed a little while Michael grumbled about how stupid Luke was for saying 'It's just Geometry.'

From the corner of his eye, Luke saw that Ashton was working on the homework by himself. He looked like he was concentrating, but Luke could clearly see that Ashton wasn't making much progress judging how little work he had done.

Excusing himself from Michael, Luke faced Ashton and tapped the boy on the shoulder. Ashton glanced over and Luke smiled at him.

"Hey, Ash," he said, sending him a small wave.

Ashton waved back, one corner of his lip slightly curving upwards.

"You okay? You're awfully quiet."

"That's because we're working on homework," Ashton deadpanned.

"True, but you usually talk to me anyway. Is everything all right? Do you need help with homework?"

"I'm fine, Luke."

"Promise?" Luke held up his little finger at Ashton.

Ashton only stared at the finger before him, pulling his bottom lip in between his teeth. Slowly, he raised his hand and linked his pinky with Luke's, looking into Luke's eyes and saying, "I promise."

Luke smiled at Ashton before unhooking his finger from Ashton's. He looked over at Michael and said, "Hey, I'm pretty much done with homework, so I'll be over here. I think you get the gist of the homework."

"No, I don't," Michael said, shaking his head. "I never understand Geometry."

"It's not that hard."

"It's not that simple either."

Rolling his eyes, Luke suggested, "How about I tutor you after school? I guarantee you'll understand the lesson by the end of the day."

"And if I don't get it, you're gonna wear a skirt to school, right?" The older boy cocked his brows, leaning forward to hear what Luke had to say.

"Lukey," Ashton spoke up as he placed his hand on Luke's arm, "is it okay if we study for our English quiz?"

Turning his attention to Ashton whose lips formed a smile and eyes peered directly into his, Luke grinned and answered, "Sure. Here." Luke then searched for his English notes and handed them to Ashton. Afterwards, he looked at Michael and said, "And I'm not doing that. I'm a great tutor. You'll definitely understand Geometry."

"That's funny." Michael leaned back in his seat, pulling his phone from his pocket and plopping it right on top of his homework. "I'll be in the library after sixth period."

Luke chuckled. "Okay then."

"You won't be laughing when you have to wear a skirt to school."

"I never agreed to do that."

"Because you know you can't teach me shit."

"Hemmings! Clifford!" Mr. Gomez yelled, Luke and Michael glancing over at their teacher. "If you're going to talk loudly, make sure it's Maths-related

"It is, I swear!" Michael protested. "Luke just agreed to work on Geometry with me after school!"

Mr. Gomez narrowed his eyes at the two, making hand gestures at the two to show that he was keeping an eye on them before he returned to whatever he was doing.

"After school, if you're able to remember anything at all that was brought up in lesson today," Luke said as he looked at Michael again, "then you have to wear a skirt."

"No way in hell am I doing that!" Michael snapped. "I wouldn't be caught dead in one!"

"Why? Because you know you're gonna lose?" Luke raised his eyebrows and blinked a couple of times innocently.

The older boy squinted at Luke. "Are you challenging me?"

"Was it not obvious enough?"

"Okay, fine. Challenge accepted." Michael stuck his hand out, and Luke immediately grabbed it. The two shook hands before pulling away. "Since when did you become so confident around me?"

Luke shrugged. "Since earlier when you called me a close acquaintance."

Michael slowly nodded his head before pointing at Luke casually. "You know what? I like you. We're gonna be great friends, I can tell."

Before Luke could say anything, he jumped a bit when Ashton stood up abruptly and walked over to Mr. Gomez's desk. Luke watched as Ashton said something and the teacher nodded before opening his desk, pulling out a notebook, and writing in it. He tore out a piece of paper and handed it to Ashton, the latter thanking him briefly before walking back over to his desk.

Luke watched in confusion and astonishment as Ashton started to pack his things, shoving the English notes back at the taller boy before throwing his backpack over his shoulder and storming out of the classroom.

"Dude, what's your boyfriend's problem?" Michael asked.

Face turning red, Luke whipped his head around to face Michael. "A-Ashton's not my boyfriend. We're just friends, and he's dating someone else."

His older brother making his crush giggly this morning came to Luke's mind, but he quickly shook the thought of Jack and Ashton together before he could feel any emotions. He didn't want Michael to know he had any feelings for Ashton just yet.

"I swear to God, he was scowling at me when we were talking," Michael said. "I'm pretty sure he hates me or somethin'."

Snorting, Luke shook his head. "I doubt that's the case. This is Ashton we're talking about. It's not like him to hate someone he hardly knows."

Michael didn't look like he was believing Luke, but he nodded anyway. "Okay..."

"Besides, what reason could he possibly have to even dislike you?"

"Wow, what nice things you have to say to me. Anyway, for real though." Michael pointed at his homework. "Twenty-three. How does one do it?"

"Did you even look at it?"

"I don't need to to know I don't get it."

Luke laughed a little as he completely turned himself around so his body was facing Michael. He examined the problem and then proceeded to teach Michael how to do it.

As he watched Michael attempt to work on the problem, Luke began to wonder why Ashton had left the classroom. From what Luke could tell, the note Mr. Gomez had written was a pass to the nurse's office, but Ashton didn't seem sick at all to Luke.

Even though Ashton told Luke he was fine, Luke was starting to believe that even less every time he thought about it. He was starting to worry more about the other boy.

He really wanted to know--What was _really_ going on with Ashton?


	16. Chapter 15

Ashton didn't attend the next three classes, and Luke was starting to get really worried. Maybe he was feeling unwell and went home, but he didn't look like he was sick at all. Then again, there were a lot of things that Luke didn't know about Ashton--he was still a mystery to him.

Lunch had arrived and all Luke got himself was an apple juice carton before he went to his locker to grab his English textbook. When he saw his brother in the cafeteria that morning he noticed that Ashton wasn't with him. Jack just seemed to have been carrying on with his life, but Luke knew his brother well enough to know that he wasn't one to display any sort of sadness and have people worry about him. He was most likely hiding his sadness by laughing with his friends.

He had decided to go to the library so he could do a little bit more studying. He felt well prepared for the quiz, but he didn't think that it would hurt to do some more studying.

Once he got to the library, he went to the first unoccupied table that he saw and sat down, placing his book and apple juice carton on top of the wooden surface. He set his backpack down, pulled out his English notes, and then put them beside his book.

"Hey, Luke," a voice said, making the freshman look up and see Calum holding a wrapped burger at his side. Calum sat himself down next to Luke and scooted his seat in. "What brings you here?"

"Studying," Luke answered, pushing his notes towards Calum to see. "Hamlet."

"Disgusting." Calum laughed. "Need help?"

Luke shook his head. "I'm just going to briefly look over everything. Refresh my memory a little more."

"I see, I see."

"Why're you here?"

Calum shrugged. "Wanted a quiet place to eat my lunch. Hey, do you happen to know if Michael came to school today? When I went into his room this morning, he was gone."

"I saw him this morning. We have Geometry together."

"Oh, okay." Calum placed his burger on the table and began to unwrap it from the foil. "Well, considering it's lunchtime now, he probably left campus to go elsewhere."

"If he did, he'll be back after school." Luke opened up his book until he was on the first Act of Hamlet.

"What makes you say that?" Calum raised an eyebrow at Luke. "Why would Michael come back to school?"

"Because I'm going to tutor him in Geometry." Luke glanced towards Calum and saw that the older boy seemed taken aback by this information.

"Really?" Calum said. "He actually agreed to be tutored?"

Luke nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Wow. That's news to me." He bit into his burger and watched as Luke propped his elbow against the table and rested his head in the palm of his hand. "Havin' fun there?"

"Well, I'm basically studying at the last minute for a test I have, so I don't see why I would be having fun at all," Luke said.

"Well, you didn't have to sass me back."

"Don't have to what?" Luke looked up, looking at Calum confused.

"Nothing."

"Calum," a voice spoke, causing the brunet and blond to glance behind him and see a girl with brown hair waving at him.

Giving the girl a half smile, Calum waved back as the girl walked over and took a seat next to Calum, taking her backpack off her shoulder and placing it on the ground. Luke went back to trying to study, wishing that Calum and the other girl would leave. Well, mostly the girl, because he didn't know who she was.

"Fancy seeing you here," the brunette said as she leaned towards her backpack to unzip it and pull out her water bottle. "I didn't know you come to the library."

"I usually don't," Calum said, shrugging, "but I did and I stumbled across my friend here. Oh, Luke!" The younger boy glanced up to see that Calum was gesturing over to the girl. "This is Mayme. And Mayme," Calum glanced at the girl, "this is Luke."

"Hi, Luke," said Mayme as she smiled and stuck her hand out at Luke, "it's nice to meet you."

"You, too," Luke practically mumbled as he shook her extended hand before retracting his and folding his arms on top of the table and resting his head upon them.

"He's studying for a test that he has later," Calum explained, "so we shouldn't bother him too much."

Luke mentally rolled his eyes, because Calum was the one who was bothering him. He stood up, shoved his notes inside the book and said as he closed the book, "I'll go study elsewhere so you guys can talk without having to worry about me."

Calum reached his hand out at Luke, making the younger boy look at him. "You don't have to do that, Luke. We'll leave. Right, Mayme?"

"Yeah. Sorry to disrupt your studying." Mayme stood up and began putting her stuff inside her backpack. "I'll be goin' then."

"I'll go with you." Calum got up as well, taking his belongings and walking over to stand next to Mayme. He then glanced at Luke and said, "See you later, Luke."

Luke bade Calum and Mayme goodbye as he watched the two leave the library together. He then let his eyes wander around the room before he found a clock on a wall and saw that lunch was about to end. He then looked back down at his notes to study, frowning when seeing that there was so much material he needed to go over before his quiz. Study, study, study...

"I wonder if Ashton's going to show up for the quiz," Luke mumbled to himself, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. He was getting a little worried about him and hoped Ashton was okay. If Ashton were to not show up for the quiz today, he could probably have it made up and Luke could tell him what to expect on the quiz before he would have to take it. Because he was a good friend that way.

Just a good friend.

-

Ashton didn't show up to their foreign language class after lunch, but he did show up to their English class. Luke was about to ask Ashton where he was, but didn't say anything because Ashton seemed like he was in a bad mood. He decided to ask him after class.

Quizzes were being passed around and Luke was grateful that he had done some quick studying before given his quiz, because a majority of the material on the paper he went over during his study sessions. He felt like he was guaranteed at least a B.

He tried his very best not to glance over at Ashton in fear that the teacher would think he was trying to cheat off of him, but from the corner of his eye he could see Ashton tapping a pencil against his chin like he was thinking about how to come across the questions. He wished that he could have helped Ashton a bit more to study, but right now there was nothing he could do.

Time went by and Luke had finished the quiz ten minutes before time was up. He turned it in and then sat back down on his desk, picking up his pencil and twirling it in between his fingers. Many other students began to stand up and hand in their quizzes--many but Ashton. From what Luke could tell Ashton was only a little bit more than halfway through the quiz. He told himself that he was going to help Ashton with classes more in the future.

Luke tried to let himself take a nap as he waited for time to go by, but his mind was thinking too much about Ashton. He peeked over at Ashton's face, not being able to tell if Ashton was doing his best to concentrate or if something else was occupying his mind. Unfortunately, he couldn't ask Ashton if anything was up at that moment, but there were still a few minutes left. He would just ask Ashton then.

The clock ticked on until finally class was over, also indicating that it was 'time's up' for the quizzes. Everyone but Ashton had finished beforehand, but most of the students probably were bullshitting through the test as time was running out. Ashton, on the other hand, hadn't finished. When the teacher told him to stop writing and bring up his quiz, he just flipped the quiz back to the first page before standing up from his seat and bringing it over to the teacher's desk.

Luke was already packed by the time Ashton returned to his desk, shoving all of his belongings into his backpack, throwing it over his shoulder and exiting the room.

"Ashton," Luke called out, catching up to the smaller boy who turned around to look at him. "You okay? You've been absent for four of the classes."

Ashton nodded. "I'm fine. I just went to the nurse's office because I wasn't feeling well and took a nap there. Thankfully, I woke up before English class started so I was able to come to the quiz."

Luke tugged at his bottom lip as the two began walking together down the halls. "How did you think you did on the quiz? I noticed you were taking quite some time."

"I think I could've done better. I definitely should have studied more."

"Well, we can do some more studying today. Thankfully, I wrote down all the notes for the classes you missed, so I can just show you what you missed."

The two arrived at Ashton's locker, the shorter boy opening it up and bringing his backpack in front of him. He smiled up at Luke and said, "That'd be great. Thanks, Luke."

Luke grinned, thinking about how adorable Ashton's smile was. "Y-You're welcome."

"So are we gonna go to your house to study?" Ashton questioned.

The blond tried to refrain himself from frowning, because if the two were to go back to his place then there was no doubt that Jack would probably show up in between their studying and distract Ashton. And right now Ashton couldn't afford any distractions. So Luke offered, "Actually, do you want to go to your house instead?"

Ashton's smile fell. "M-Mine?"

Luke didn't miss the way Ashton's lips were no longer curved upwards. "Is something wrong with that?" he asked.

"No, n-nothing's wrong. It's just--" Ashton sighed "--Never mind. Yeah, we can go to my house."

Forcing a smile, Luke watched as Ashton started to take things in and out of his locker. This was going to be the first time Luke was going to be inside Ashton's house. It was a really large, nice house from the outside, so he was slightly curious as to whether or not it was just as nice on the inside, if not better.

Before the two could say anything more, a voice called out, "Ashton."

Luke and Ashton turned to the voice and saw Jack approaching them. Luke frowned when his brother started to get closer to them. He really didn't want to see Jack right now. Not with Ashton, at least.

"Hey, Jacky," Ashton greeted as he zipped up his backpack and shut his locker with a smile that appeared more genuine than the last few he gave to Luke. That made Luke's insides bubble with jealousy.

"How are you? I missed you during lunch." Jack swung his arm around Ashton's shoulder, pulling the boy closer to him and pressing a kiss to the side of his head.

Luke wanted to leave, but he didn't have to since the couple were already leaving without another word to him. He just shook his head and then turned to leave for his locker. He was going to have to somehow get over the fact that Jack and Ashton were together.

On his way to his locker, he saw Calum and the girl from the library (Mayme, was it?) talking to each other. He watched them for a little bit as he stopped at his locker and opened it up, shoving his things inside other than his Geometry supplies.

"Ugh," he heard a voice grumble and he turned his head, seeing Michael leaning against the locker next to Luke's. "Why are those two still hanging out with each other?"

Luke noticed that Michael was glaring in the direction of Calum and Mayme, so he asked, "What's up? Calum's just talking."

"That's Mayme," Michael answered. "You know, the girl I talked about this morning? Calum's ex-girlfriend?"

"Oh." Well, Luke felt a bit dumb. He should have figured out that the Mayme who was with Calum today was the same Mayme that broke up with Calum. It wasn't even that common of a name either. Yeah, Luke felt pretty stupid.

The older boy rolled his eyes as he said, "Anyway, let's go to the library." He shut Luke's locker and grabbing at the younger boy's wrist. "I can't stand another moment seeing those two together."

"O-Okay." Luke just let Michael drag him towards the library where the two would start their tutoring session. At least it was something that would keep Luke's mind off of Ashton and Jack.

Once Michael and Luke reached the library they found themselves an unoccupied table, taking over it and scattering their Geometry notes on top of it.

"Let's get started," Luke said, opening up the textbook to the page they were learning about. Michael just folded his arms over the table and rested his head in them, yawning when Luke began to explain Geometry.

A few minutes later, Michael let out a loud groan that interrupted Luke, making the freshman glance at him with annoyance before seeing someone from the corner of his eye approach them.

"Afternoon, Luke," Calum said. "Michael."

"Go away, Hood," Michael growled.

"Technically, you're also a Hood."

"Shut up, you." Michael glared over at Calum. He sat upright. "Shouldn't you be at practice or something?"

"Canceled, but thanks for worryin' about me. Really appreciate it." Calum grinned at the younger boy who rolled his eyes. "I'm just waiting for you to finish your tutor session. Don't mind me."

Michael gaped at Calum before looking at Luke. "You told him?"

"A-Anyway," Luke spoke up, clearing his throat, "let's take a look at this problem again, okay?"

Michael huffed in annoyance, but didn't question Luke again, agreeing to go back to learning about Geometry again.

Luke noticed from the corner of his eye as he was explaining to Michael how exterior angles work, Calum would be sipping on his lemon tea, glancing over at them to see what they were going over. He then turned his attention back to tutoring Michael.

There were times when Michael would just groan in frustration, not understanding anything. He complained about how stupid he was, but Luke reassured that Michael would eventually get it. It wasn't anything too difficult, so Luke had high confidence that Michael would be able to get it.

After a while, Calum stood up so he could toss away his empty juice box, but Michael's eyes snapped open and jaw dropped as he gazed down at the problems, smacking his hand against the armrest and making Calum and Luke look at him with confusion written on their faces.

"Luke, I... I think I understand this," Michael said. "Holy crap, I actually understand Geometry! Calum, look! I can Maths! You, I can do Ma--Don't hush me! This is a proud moment for me, so let me enjoy it!"

Luke didn't say anything. He just leaned on his arm and smirked at Michael, waiting for the older boy to calm down. He knew that Michael could understand

"You really are a great tutor, Luke," Michael complimented as he sat himself down on the seat beside his friend. "I should've gone to you a long time ago."

"Yeah, okay," Luke said, slurring his words and still looking at Michael.

Noticing the younger boy's tone, Michael faced Luke. "What? Why're you looking at me like that?"

Luke raised his eyebrows. "I think you know why."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Nope. You did all the problems correctly. All by yourself. Because you understood."

Michael narrowed his eyes in confusion before they widened in surprise, his jaw slacked.

"Oh, no," Michael muttered as Luke's grin grew wider. "Oh, fuck no!" He shoved his homework at Luke and jumped of his seat, sitting on the ground before lying face down. "I forgot, damn it! I-I mean, I didn't learn anything!"

"Forgot what?" Calum asked, glancing over at Luke.

Luke proceeded to explain. "Michael and I made a bet that if he understood Maths then he--"

"No!" Michael hurried onto his feet and slapped his hand over Luke's face, keeping him from exposing anything. "Do _not_ tell Calum!"

"Don't tell me what?" Calum tilted his head to the side, finishing the last drops of his lemon tea.

"Forget it, Calum! You don't want to know."

"If I didn't, then I wouldn't be asking. Now, what is it?"

"No!"

"Michael." Calum glared at Michael, but the latter boy only glared back.

Luke shoved Michael's hand away from his face and Michael glared over at him, saying, "I swear to God, if you tell him--"

"I'm not gonna tell him anything," Luke said. "You need to calm down though."

"I am calm! You need to chill!"

"Michael, you are yelling," Calum said, narrowing his eyes at the younger boy. "In case you've forgotten, we're in the school library, and I'm sure people here would appreciate it if you kept your voice at a minimum."

Michael snorted. "You can't tell me what to do, you turd. You're not the boss of me."

"No, but at least have some dignity."

Luke laughed to himself as he muttered quietly, "He won't have any after he puts on a skirt."

Calum blinked at the blond freshman. "Wait, a skirt?"

Luke mentally cursed himself for not being quiet enough.

Michael's face flushed red, either from embarrassment or anger. Either way, he shoved his belongings into his backpack before swinging it over his shoulder and storming out of the library, Luke rushing after him and leaving Calum behind with a confused expression.

"Michael, wait!" Luke yelled out once the two were outside of the library. He grabbed at his arm, only for the older boy to forcefully yank away.

"You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you?!" Michael snapped. "I told you not to tell Calum and yet you blabber on anyway!"

"I didn't mean to tell him anything! I was just making a side comment--"

"Regardless, he still heard you. Why did I even come up with this stupid bet? I should've known that I was going to lose, anyway."

"Michael."

Luke and Michael glanced over to see Calum walking out of the library, brown eyes looking directly into green eyes.

"Go away, Calum," Michael snapped. "I don't want to deal with you right now."

"We need to get home now," Calum said. "Come on, let's go home."

Michael shook his head. "I'm walking. I don't want to deal with either of you." He glared over at Luke. " _Especially_ you."

Luke winced at Michael's harsh tone, the sophomore turning on his heels and leaving. Luke placed a hand over his face, sighing heavily. He really messed up. He was grateful that he was able to help tutor Michael with Maths and get him to understand at least, but he shouldn't have said anything about the bet with Calum around. Michael told him to not say anything and yet he did anyway.

"He'll cool off," Calum said, "I swear."

"I still want to apologize," Luke said with a pout.

Calum shook his head. "It's okay. This'll all blow over. I guess that's all the tutoring you two will do today then?"

Luke shrugged. "I suppose."

"Do you need a ride home?"

"No, I'm fine. I have to go somewhere." Luke still had not forgotten about going to Ashton's house. He just needed to figure out where Ashton was now.

"All right then. I'll go try to convince Michael to let me drive him home. You stay safe."

"Will do."

Calum then rushed off while Luke went back inside the library to gather up his things. He made sure he had everything before exiting the library and going on the search for Ashton.

He wasn't having any luck finding Ashton, and it was times like this where he wished that he had exchanged numbers with him.

Now that he thought about it, Luke didn't think he had ever seen Ashton's phone before. Did he even have one? Who wouldn't have one by his age? Plus, Ashton practically lived in a mansion, so why was it that his family could afford a giant house but not a phone for Ashton?

Luke was pretty sure that he had just never seen Ashton use his phone. Maybe Ashton was one of those people who weren't as addicted to their phones like most people. It was weird to think about it, but that could be a possibility. Regardless, Luke still wished that he had some way to contact Ashton.

He eventually found Ashton and, of course, he was with Jack and they were by his older brother's locker. Ashton was just leaning against the lockers while Jack had one arm resting right above Ashton's head, leaning down and bringing their faces close to each other.

Luke approached them quickly and loudly cleared his throat, causing the couple to draw their faces away and turn their attention to him. Ashton's cheeks grew a shade of red while Jack just smiled at his younger brother.

"Hey, Luke," Jack said. "Ready to go home?"

"I'm actually going to Ashton's house today," Luke said. "We have to study."

Jack shrugged. "Okay, you two have fun studying. I have to get home and study myself."

Ashton pouted. "You can't join us, Jacky?"

"As much as I want to be with you, I work best at home. However, if you change your mind then you can still come over to our place--"

"No, it's already decided," Luke interrupted. "We'll be leaving now. See you at home, Jack."

"Well, okay. See you." Jack waved and was about to leave, but not before giving Ashton a kiss on the cheek to which the younger boy responded by giggling and kissing him back.

Luke glared at Jack who then walked off, but his attention was turned back to reality when Ashton cleared his throat and said, "Let's go now?"

"Yeah," Luke repeated, the two leaving the school and walking in the direction of Ashton's house.

-

The two young freshmen arrived at Ashton's house about thirty minutes later and Luke was nervous. He wasn't sure why he was. Maybe because he was going to be alone with Ashton at Ashton's house this time and Jack wasn't going to be there bothering them either. However, he kept telling reminding himself that the two were just going to study and nothing more. It wasn't like they were going to be doing anything (and it wasn't like Luke could do anything, because he had plenty of self-control and knew better than to try to hit on someone who belonged to somebody else, even if Luke was the one who admitted to having a crush on that someone first).

Ashton and Luke got to the front door and Ashton pulled out his key and unlocked the door, pushing it open and letting them both inside. This was Luke's first time being inside Ashton's home. It was spacious and Luke was in complete awe with the place. The house was large, but it was so clean and didn't have a lot of decor inside. The walls of the living room they were in had only one painting of a bunch of grapes and peaches. A white sofa was placed right in the middle of the room facing the wall adjacent to the front door. The floors were made of light grey marble and were so shiny Luke could almost see himself. 

"So this is where I live," Ashton told Luke, removing his backpack from his shoulders and holding it in his arms. "Make yourself at home."

Luke's mouth was still open from shock. He couldn't believe that he actually got to see such a place with his very own eyes. "You have a really nice house."

Ashton smiled. "Thank you. It's all thanks to my parents. Let's go up to my room." He grabbed a hold of Luke's wrist and started to lead him up the wide spiral stairs.

Luke was definitely more nervous now than he was before.

They reached a large white door and Ashton pulled it open. As expected, the room was large and it was just as plain as the rest of the house. A king size bed was positioned in the center of the room up against the wall, and a flat screen TV fit nicely in the marble part of the wall, and a radio was on a clean table that sat at the foot of the bed. A single recliner was by the balcony glass door and white drapes were drawn back so the outside view could be seen. Luke gazed upwards and saw a single ceiling fan moving slowly around and around. He turned his eyes towards two more doors, one of them looking like a walk-in closet while the other looked like it led to the bathroom.

Luke would honestly not mind having a room like Ashton's.

Ashton placed his backpack on the floor, sitting himself down and crossing his legs as he opened his backpack and started taking his school supplies out. Luke joined him on the ground and sat across from him, doing the same thing with his own stuff.

Once the two were situated where they were, Luke handed Ashton his notes for the classes Ashton missed and began to explain the best he could about what was talked about in class. Thankfully, Luke understood today's lessons fairly well, so going over them again to Ashton wasn't difficult to do.

"With Biology, we're just going over some basic Punnett squares, which are really easy to learn," Luke explained while Ashton had his eyes looking down at his open notebook and was writing down what Luke was telling him. "First you have these letters that represent the alleles, capital letters being dominant and lowercase letters being recessive. You draw a square like so and--"

Ashton suddenly loud gasp and glanced at the clock. He jumped onto his feet and rushed out of his room as he shouted to Luke, "I'll be back!"

"Ashton?" Luke asked, but got no response. He curiously stood up and followed after the other boy, wondering why he was suddenly so excited.

Finding his way down the stairs, Luke saw Ashton running over to the door, swinging it open and bouncing lightly on his toes as he kept his gaze outside. Luke stood next to Ashton and peered out as well, seeing an older man approach the door with while he was talking--most likely into some sort of Bluetooth.

"Welcome home, Dad!" Ashton exclaimed happily "How was your day at work?"

"No, no, I said _fifteen!_ " exclaimed the man, ignoring Ashton's question. "Why in Heaven's name would I tell you to make fifty?! You're wasting precious money here, Julianne!"

"Um, h-how was work?" Ashton repeated as his dad walked past him. He closed the door and said, "Oh! I have a friend over!" He pulled Luke towards him. "His name's Luke. He's the very first friend I made in school--"

"Hold on, I've got to make another call. I'll call you back in ten minutes."

Ashton bit his bottom lip. "Dad, I made a friend--"

"Ashton, _please!_ " snapped the man, twisting himself around and glaring at the younger boy, "Can you not see that I am very busy right? Go watch some TV, take a nap, eat some snacks, I don't know. Just leave me in peace. I've got too much work to do and all you're doing is bothering me."

Luke's eyes went wide at how Ashton's father talked to his son. He watched as the man walked off and was talking once again on the phone. He glanced over at Ashton to see that he was now facing downwards, not saying anything.

"Ash?" Luke hesitantly spoke. "You okay?"

Ashton didn't answer Luke's concerned question. Luke couldn't see his face, so he couldn't tell whether he looked sad or not. However, the posture Ashton was in made it seem like it was sulking. He probably wasn't okay, but Luke wanted to ask anyway.

Instead he looked up at Luke and said with a smile on his face, "Let's go back to my room, yeah? We need to finish up studying." He skipped away back to his room and all Luke could do was watch.

What was going on in Ashton's head?

He went after Ashton up to his room, seeing the other boy now on floor lying on his stomach, legs swinging back and forth in the air. Ashton let his pencil write across the paper as he softly hummed to himself.

Luke didn't like how Ashton was acting like what just happened was either normal or didn't even happen at all. Frankly, it upset Luke that Ashton's own parent would treat him so rudely.

"Lukey, why are you just standing there?" Ashton said, a small giggle sounding from him afterwards. "Come join me. We've still got lots of studying to do."

A part of Luke really wanted to pull Ashton into a hug and just cuddle with him. He felt the need to comfort the boy, but he willed himself to not do anything. Besides, Ashton didn't seem like he needed any comforting right now. Unless... he was hiding how he truly felt.

"Ashton, does your dad always treat you like that?" Luke asked, trying to get a better understanding of the relationship Ashton and his dad had.

"He's a very busy man," Ashton answered, never taking his eyes off of his notes that seemed to have gotten sloppier since the two returned to the bedroom. "I shouldn't have bothered him while he was in the middle of work."

"But still. He was very rude and I don't like that."

"He's my dad. It's okay."

"No, it's not." Luke sat down next to Ashton, scooting closer to him. "I don't care if he's your dad. How he talked to you wasn't right and I think he should have at least taken some time out of his life to have a decent conversation with you."

Ashton shrugged. "At least he talks to me. He did tell me to leave him alone."

"That doesn't--"

"Luke, can we please not talk about this?" The shorter boy's voice sounded a little broken as he looked up at Luke, his face showing he wasn't in the mood to have this discussion. Luke was pretty sure that Ashton's eyes were on the verge of watering. "It's okay. I'm fine, I promise. Now I would really like to go over all the notes, if that's okay with you."

Luke reluctantly agreed to continue on with the study session, but he really didn't want to let go of this topic. Ashton might not have looked it, but what happened between him and his dad not too long ago clearly distraught him. Luke didn't like how Ashton was keeping to himself and acting like everything was fine, because they weren't really.

In the end Luke just let Ashton copy down his notes, because he couldn't focus after witnessing what he saw. Yes, he wanted Ashton to understand what he missed from school, but he wanted Ashton to understand more that it was okay to not be okay.

He wanted Ashton to rely on him with whatever issues he had been hiding, and he was going to have that done someway, somehow.


	17. Chapter 16

It was Saturday. That meant today Jack was going to be taking Ashton out for their date. Luke didn't want to think about it and, not wanting to be by himself, decided to ask Calum if he could come over to his place. Plus, Luke still wanted to apologize to Michael for what happened the previous day.

Five minutes after Jack had left to take Ashton out, Calum showed up at the Hemmings residence to pick Luke up. The younger Hemmings had gotten a call from the older boy, briefly looking over his outfit through the mirror before mentally thinking he appeared okay before telling his mom he was leaving and then running out to meet Calum.

"Morning, Luke," Calum said as the blond got inside the car and sat down in the passenger's seat, shutting the door.

"Hey," Luke said, putting on his strap. Then the car began to move and the two were on their way to the Hood-Clifford house.

There was silence lingering in the air inside the car. The radio was off, but for some reason neither of the boys reached out to switch it on to play any noise. Luke just stared down at his lap as Calum kept his eyes focused on the road. Luke wasn't sure why they were even quiet in the first place, so he decided to speak first.

"So," he said, "how's Michael?"

Calum shrugged and he answered, "He was being stubborn and wouldn't let me take him back home, so I let him walk. When he did get home, he went straight to his room and didn't come out since. Well, except for food and the bathroom, but that's about it."

Luke frowned. "I see."

"It's not your fault. He's just a moody teenager. He'll mature eventually."

The blond wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he kept quiet.

"So why a skirt?" Calum asked.

"Huh?" Luke glanced over at the brunet.

"Why a skirt? There are so many other things to do for a bet, but you guys chose to wear a skirt."

"Oh. Well, it was Michael's idea. He thought I'd be the one to lose."

"And what was the bet even about?"

"If he understood Maths, then he'll wear a skirt. If not, then I'll wear a skirt."

Calum snorted. "Of course, Michael would lose to the bet. That's such a dumb bet to make. Should've done something else."

Luke just hummed.

"Anyway, just talk to Michael. He may be mad, but I doubt he hates you. From what I've observed, you're the only person that he is comfortable around."

"R-Really?"

Calum nodded. "He's not that social, so he doesn't have a lot of friends, but he seems fine with you, even if he does think you can be an idiot sometimes."

"Oh. That's supposed to be a compliment?"

The two arrived at the Hood-Clifford household, Calum turning the engine off and the two boys climbing out of the car and approaching the front door.

"Take it as one. I can't even get close to Michael myself. He actually hates me, unlike with you." Calum's lips made a small smile as he unlocked the door and opened it. "I don't know, I think I shouldn't even bother. I feel like no matter what I do, his opinion of me will never change."

"I don't think Michael hates you," Luke said, his mind going back to when Michael was talking about how annoyed he was with the fact that Calum and Mayme were socializing with one another again. It was probably the only time Luke had seen Michael show any care for Calum, even if his attitude about it was more hostile.

"I'd like to believe that, trust me." The two entered the house and then Calum shut the door after him before saying, "Michael's most likely in his room. I'm going to make myself somethin' to eat. You go on ahead and talk to him."

Luke nodded as Calum went towards the kitchen. He looked down the hall and started to head to Michael's room. He was a little nervous, to be honest, but he was going to try to at least talk to Michael, even if the older boy was pissed off at him.

When he got to the door he knocked on it, but didn't get much of a response. He cleared his throat and said, "Michael? It's Luke. Can I come in?"

"Why the fuck are you standing out there? Get in here, you fuck!" Michael exclaimed, causing Luke to jump.

"Um--" Luke reached for the knob, twisting at it only to find that the door was locked. He sort of expected that.

"What the fuck!" Michael shouted again, making Luke raise a questioning brow. "You're a shit person, you know that?!"

"I'm--I'm sorry?" Luke was confused. He then heard laughing behind him, turning himself around to see Calum holding a ham sandwich with lettuce and honey mustard.

"Sounds like he's playing video games," he explained. "Lucky for you, there's a small pin to unlock Michael's door. I can go get it for you, if you'd like."

Luke shook his head as he said, "No, that's okay. I'll wait for him to come out."

"I'm pretty sure I told you already that he won't come out unless he wants food or he needs to--"

"Hang on, Reed, I gotta take a piss," Michael said from within his room. Luke and Calum stepped back from the door, watching as the handle jiggled and the door swung open. Michael stopped in his tracks, looking up and narrowing his eyes when he saw Luke. He crossed his arms over his chest and snapped, "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh--" Luke began, scratching the back of his neck "--I wanted to apologize."

"Okay?" Michael leaned against the wall.

"Look, I'm really sorry about not keeping my mouth shut. I didn't intend on--"

"I'mma let you finish, but I really gotta pee. So, hold that thought for a bit, will ya?" He gave Luke's face a light pat before walking past the two and going straight for the bathroom.

"Okay, well I'm heading back to my room," Calum said. "If you need me, you know where to find me."

Luke nodded and Calum walked off while taking another bite of his sandwich. Not wanting to idly stand in the hallway any longer, Luke went inside Michael's room and took a seat down on the edge of the bed. He waited patiently for Michael to return, hands clasped together on his lap as he just stared ahead at the door.

After a while, Michael finally walked through the door and Luke sprung up to his feet, going over to the older boy.

"Michael, I'm really sorry about telling Calum about the bet," Luke spoke quickly. "I didn't intend on him to hear what it was, but he heard me anyway and I can't even express how distressed I am from upsetting you. I really don't want you to hate me, because I actually consider you as a friend and--"

"Luke, just shut the fuck up," Michael interrupted, holding a hand up and squeezing his fingers against his thumb to indicate that Luke keep his mouth closed. "I need to show you something."

Tilting his head to the side, Luke watched as Michael walked towards his computer and told his friend he had to go before exiting out of his game. The older boy then went over to his closet, reached inside and pulled something out, displaying it before him for the blond to see.

Luke's eyes went wide. "You actually own a skirt?" he asked, looking at the white short clothing that had ruffles at the end of it.

"Hush," Michael said. "I actually had this chilling in my closet for a while. It was from my ex who left it here and never came back for it." He glared at Luke. "I swear to God, if you tell Calum--"

"Okay, okay! I swear! Why don't you want Calum to know?"

"Because he's a piece of shit. If he finds out, I'm going to kill you, because you're the only person I told about this, so if he even has any idea about this, there's no fucking doubt that it's because of you. Understood?"

Luke gulped, nodding his head.

"Good." Michael smiled. He threw the skirt at Luke's face. "It looks like it'll fit me, but I'm not going to try it on now, because the bet was to wear it at school. Although I'm not looking forward to that, a bet is a bet and I don't back down from those."

Luke dropped the skirt onto the ground. "Um, okay?"

"Honestly though, it'll be really embarrassing, but I've done worse. Won't even go into detail about those--don't want to scar you with such disgusting images."

The blond sat down on the computer chair as he watched Michael lie down on the bed, kicking one leg up to rest it over the other. Michael shut his eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out.

"So, um, do you still hate me?" Luke asked, hesitantly scooting the chair closer to the bed.

"I don't hate you," Michael said, "but I am still mad. Not at you, but at the fact that Calum knows." He opened his eyes and gave Luke a pointed look. "If I tell you any secrets and you dare breathe a word of it to Calum, then I will castrate you and feed it to my neighbor's vicious chihuahua."

Luke's immediate reaction was to stiffen and place his hands between his legs, as if he were trying to protect himself from anything that threatened to alter him down there. The idea made him uncomfortable, so he thought it was best to listen to Michael so he didn't end up on his bad side.

"So--" Michael moved onto his side so that way he was facing Luke. He propped his head up in the palm of his hand "--what do you want to do? Go out and grab a drink? Play some video games? Eat? Take a nap?"

"Uh, I'm okay with whatever," the younger boy answered.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Don't be so passive. Come on, I'm letting you choose. If you don't pick anything, I might end up falling asleep and you'll most likely be bored out of your mind."

There was a knock at the door and the two boys glanced over to see Calum leaning against the wall with his knuckles against the wooden door.

"What do you want, you turd?" Michael groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm goin' out to buy somethin' to drink," Calum said. "Do you guys want anything?"

"Depends on where you're going."

"The little coffee shop down the street."

Michael thought for a moment before deciding. "No, thanks. Luke, you want anything to drink?"

Luke shook his head. "I'm fine with water."

Calum just bit his bottom lip. "Okay, well, I'll be going then." He was about to leave before he turned back towards the two boys. "I ordered a large pepperoni pizza, so when the doorbell rings--"

"Pizza?" Michael's eyes enlarged.

The eldest of the three just grinned at Michael's expression. "Yes, pizza. I'm leaving money on the table by the door. Feel free to eat as much as you want. Whatever's left I'll eat."

Michael drew his eyebrows together. "I don't know why you want the box so bad."

Luke snorted at Michael's comment, covering his mouth to keep himself from making any more noise. Calum just glared at Michael before shaking his head and closing the door.

"We're not seriously eating the entire pizza, are we?" Luke asked, raising one brow at Michael.

"I can finish at least two pizzas by myself," Michael said. "Besides, Calum said we can eat as much as we want. He just wants the box, anyway."

"I think we should save at least one slice for him."

Michael just frowned. "Fine, whatever. One slice for him. God, I hate how you have to be nice."

The two just hung out for a bit until the pizza arrived. Michael and Luke rushed to the front door and eagerly handed the delivery girl the money as they took the box of pizza, Michael immediately hurrying back to his room with the box while Luke stayed back to wait for the change.

"Have a nice day," the girl said, tipping her hat as Luke said the same thing back to her. He closed the door when she left and then went on his way to Michael's room.

Michael was seated on the ground and the box was wide open next to him while his laptop was placed in between his legs where YouTube was open. The older boy had already scarfed down half of a pizza slice, some sauce messily on his cheeks. Luke just laughed a bit as he said, "Want me to go grab some napkins?"

Michael nodded, swallowing before saying, "Just go into the kitchen and look at the counter near the refrigerator. There's a bunch of napkins there."

Luke went towards the kitchen and searched around for the napkins. Once he found them he grabbed a handful of them before he returned to where Michael was.

The older boy had already finished one slice of pizza and was currently working on his second helping. Luke had yet to even touch the pizza, and Michael was almost done with a fourth of the entire pizza.

The blond sat down next to Michael, setting down the napkins and picking up a pizza slice. He noticed that Michael had open a twenty-two-second video of two stick figures--one red and one blue--supposedly talking about dating advice. To say the least, Luke didn't expect the ending to occur.

More videos of the same characters followed and Michael was either smiling or laughing throughout most of them while Luke reacted more towards confused and awkward. However, he didn't say anything to express his minute discomfort. Besides, Michael seemed to be enjoying the videos.

The door swung open and the two teenage boys glanced over to see Michael's mom open the door. After wiping his hand down on a napkin, Michael paused the current video that was playing and then asked in a rather rude manner, "Do you need something?"

"Michael," his mom said, "you know how I feel about eating food in your room."

"Indeed I do." Michael nodded his head, finishing the rest of his pizza.

Luke watched as a frown formed on the woman's face. "Either you eat in the kitchen or I'm throwing away the rest of the food. Also, why in the world did you buy pizza? We have food in the fridge."

"Calum bought it. Now does it make it okay for me to eat the pizza?"

She shook her head. She pointed behind her. "Kitchen. Now."

Michael groaned, standing up and closing his laptop with his foot. "Whatever." When his mom left, he glared over at Luke and snapped, "Pick up the box and get a move on."

Luke didn't argue. Michael already looked pissed off, and he didn't want to upset the older boy even more.

Instead of relocating to the kitchen, Michael motioned for Luke to head towards the table that was in the living room. "Just put the pizza box on the table," he said.

"Okay," Luke mumbled, doing as he was told before taking a seat down on the couch. Michael reached for the remote and switched on the television that was positioned on the wall opposite of the couch before connecting his phone to the TV and opening up YouTube. He resumed to the videos he and Luke were watching back in his room, sitting beside Luke and propping his feet on top of the table.

A few videos and some pizza slices later, Michael rested his head on top of Luke's lap before falling asleep while the younger boy was sitting upright and on his phone just looking through a website with funny and stupid stories involving customers.

The sound of the front door opening brought Luke's attention to the door, the blond seeing Calum walk through with a medium-sized cup of coffee and a glass bottle of Coke.

Calum looked over at Luke and smiled before his eyes looked down at Michael. He gestured towards him and asked, "Did he fall asleep after eating pizza?"

Luke nodded.

The older boy rolled his eyes. "I told that little shit to not do that. Falling asleep immediately after eating is not good for him."

"How?" Luke raised a questioning brow.

Calum shrugged. "It was something my mom always told me and I believed it." He paused for a moment. "My actual mom. Not Michael's mom."

"Oh. Okay."

Calum set his stuff down until his arms were free of anything before walking over to Luke and Michael. He scooped the sleeping boy up into his arms, Michael moving around a bit but in the end just snuggling his face into Calum's shoulder.

"Yep, he's asleep all right," the older boy confirmed, a sigh following. "I'll just take him up to his room."

"Um, do you want any help?" Luke asked, standing up from where he was seated.

"Is his room door closed?"

"I think so."

"Can you open it for me? Also, turn the TV off."

Luke nodded his head, grabbing the remote and switching the television off. As he started to walk ahead towards Michael's room, the older boy followed behind with Michael still sound asleep. After swinging Michael's door wide open for the brunet, he watched as the older boy walked through with his left side first, being careful to not make the walls touch Michael.

Arriving at the younger stepbrother's bed, Calum laid Michael down on top of the blanket. Once he had slipped his arms out from underneath Michael, the latter boy turned onto his side without waking up before once again resuming to his soft snoring.

"He looks so peaceful," Calum commented. "Way better than when he's being an annoying and stubborn piece of poop."

Luke wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he lightly laughed instead.

Calum walked out of the room and Luke was about to do the same, but his blue eyes landed on the white skirt that was on the ground. Making sure Calum wasn't looking, Luke picked it up and threw it inside Michael's closet before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Luke followed behind Calum back to the living room, the older boy picking up the glass soda bottle and bringing it in Luke's direction. "You want?"

"Um--" Luke pondered for a moment before nodding his head "--sure, I'll take it."

"Awesome." Calum positioned the bottle right beside to the table so that way the edge was underneath the rim of the cap. One hand balled up into a fist before slamming directly down on the top of the cap.

The younger boy watched in amazement as the cap popped right off and fell onto the ground.

"Damn it, it left mark on the table," Calum said, running his fingers over the scratch. "Should've done it outside instead."

"Or use a bottle opener," Luke suggested, grabbing the soda from Calum and taking a sip from it.

Calum shook his head. "There's no fun in that." He picked up the bottle cap and pocketed it, mumbling to himself how he was going to toss it away later. He grabbed the pizza box that held only two slices of pizza now and his coffee cup before glancing at Luke and saying, "I'mma head to my room now. You can join me if you want to hang out, since Michael is asleep and probably won't wake up in a while."

Luke pulled out his phone to see what time it was, frowning when the time read one in the afternoon. He didn't really want to go home yet and he hadn't even been here for long, so he took up Calum's offer to hang out with him and followed Calum up to his room.

The bedroom door was cracked open, so Calum used his foot to push it so he and Luke were admitted entrance into his room.

The younger boy took notice how different Calum's room was to Michael's. There were less items in his room (he didn't even have a TV) and it appeared to be much tidier--even the bed was neatly made. Luke was almost afraid to leave a single piece of trash behind, because it would most certainly stand out among everything else.

"I don't really like my room to be super messy," Calum commented. "Drives me nuts."

Luke merely nodded. Calum took a seat on his bed, placing his coffee on the small table beside it and the pizza box on his lap. He patted the spot next to him, gesturing for Luke to sit on the bed as well. Luke did just that, setting his drink down beside Calum's.

Calum set the pizza box behind him and opened it up, revealing the two nearly cold pizza slices. He picked one up and took a bite out of it, his brown eyes gazing off into nothing in particular.

"So, Luke," Calum began after swallowing his bite, "what's up with you and Jack?"

"Huh?" Luke wasn't prepared for the older boy to ask him that. "Wh-What do you mean?" 

"Well, for one thing, you two are brothers but there's some sort of tension between you two, and I'm not talkin' about the good kind."

Luke tilted his head. "There's a good kind of tension?"

"Don't mind that. Anyway, in all the two years I've known him he's never mentioned he had a brother. I find that kinda weird, because how the hell did he somehow manage to keep the fact he has a brother a secret?"

Calum bit into his pizza slice again. "But that's not the point I'm tryin' to make. It's pretty obvious to everyone that Jack's got a boyfriend. What's his face... Aston?"

"Ashton," Luke mumbled.

"Yeah, Ashton. So why do you like him?"

Luke's face turned bright red, eyes briefly glancing over at Calum. "Y-You know that I like him?"

Calum snorted and grinned mischievously. "I do now."

Embarrassed, Luke groaned as he buried his face in his hands, elbows resting against his knees.

"Hey, hey. No need to be like that," Calum said with a small laugh, placing one hand on Luke's shoulder. "A lot of people have crushes at one point in their life. So I guess the tension between you and Jack is because of Ashton?"

The younger boy peeked his eyes through the spaces between his fingers. He raised his head a bit and sighed. "I told Jack that I liked Ashton and that very same evening he asked him out behind my back. He was the first and only person I told and I trusted him with that secret, because he's my older brother and I look up to him. I thought to myself, 'Jack would never betray me. Fifteen years and he never gave me any reason to not trust him.' Well, not until when I found out from Ashton himself that they were dating."

Calum nodded his head. "Hm, I see."

Luke was beginning to get angry. "And--And whenever I see them together, it just reminds me of the fact that my own brother, despite knowing about my crush on Ashton, had the nerve to just stab me in the back. And he feels no guilt whatsoever about it, practically rubbing it in my face that Ashton is his boyfriend. He pretends like everything is okay between us and it just--" He groaned loudly "--it irritates me!"

The brunet finished up his one slice of pizza as his eyes were fixed on Luke, waiting for him to continue on with his rant.

Then Luke let out a heavy sigh, the anger that was displayed on his face fading as it was replaced with sadness, tears threatening to shed from his eyes. "When... Whenever Jack and Ashton are together, it's a constant reminder that Ashton is not mine. He was never mine to begin with. Sure, I was the first between Jack and me to confess my feelings for Ashton and there's that Bro Code that Michael once told me about, but that doesn't make him mine."

Luke rested his chin in the palm of his hand. "He belongs to Jack, and I can't do anything about it. Besides, Jack's my brother and, no matter how much I dislike him for what he did, I still love and care about him. I should just support and be happy for him and Ashton instead, I guess."

Neither of the two said anything for a while as Luke closed his eyes, doing his very best fighting back the tears, albeit failing. He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffled. He just remembered that his brother and Ashton were on a date together, and now he couldn't get it out of his mind. He wanted to, but it was useless trying to forget now that Jack and Ashton being together was all that he could think about.

"Jack is your brother?"

Luke and Calum glanced at the door, seeing Michael entering the room with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders. One hand clutched the ends of the blanket together to keep it from falling off of him while the other rubbed at his sleepy eyes.

"Y-Yeah, he is," Luke answered. "Um, how long have you been there?"

"Long enough," Michael mumbled. "So Jack was the one that broke the Bro Code? And that one kid in our Geometry class is dating him?"

Luke gulped, nodding his head. "Mhm."

"Wow." Michael looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at Luke. "I never saw the two together, and based on how Ashton was glaring at me the other day I would've thought that he liked you and not Jack."

Luke rolled his eyes. "He wasn't glaring at you and he doesn't like me. He's dating Jack, because he likes him and not me." He forced out a laugh. "But you know what? It shouldn't even be a surprise that he likes him. It's pretty obvious that Jack is the better one between him and me. I mean, Ashton chose him over me, right? Right?!"

"Don't," Calum said as Michael's eyes widened at Luke's outburst.

However, Luke didn't listen as he continued on. "Ashton was probably the first guy that I liked, and of course he had to fall for my brother. Everyone does! Everyone always chooses Jack! Why would anyone like me when there's Jack?"

"Stop it," Calum tried again, this time his voice growing louder.

Luke glared at Calum. "He already wooed Ashton. I bet you know someone else who likes Jack, huh? You seem to be observant enough to tell that I liked Ashton, so why not anyone else?" He looked and gestured towards Michael whose green eyes were now fixated towards the ground. "Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it were Michael who liked Jack."

No comment came from Michael.

Luke's eyes grew wide, a smile of disbelief playing on his lips. "Oh, my God, I was right."

Calum clenched his fists. "Knock it off, Luke."

Luke shook his head. "Michael, you're kidding me, right?"

Only Michael's eyes moved to meet Luke's. He gulped as he mumbled, "I--I'm not."

"Unbelievable." Luke really couldn't believe this.

"H-He's just really nice and sweet to me and lets me rant about whatever. He's also really cute and--" Michael cut himself off when Luke squinted his eyes at him "--I thought y-you said you w-wouldn't be surprised." He pulled the blanket over his mouth, like he was trying to hide himself. This was the very first time that Michael had ever appeared the least bit timid around Luke, but that was enough confirmation for Luke to know how Michael truly felt.

"Luke, that's enough!" Calum snapped, standing abruptly so he could step in between Luke and Michael. He glared down at Luke. "Don't you dare take your anger out on Michael. Let me remind you that he's not the one who hurt you. You need to calm down right now before I get seriously upset and I am trying my very best to not lose my temper, and I get pissed off easily."

The two glowered at each other, one narrowing his eyes more than the other. Eventually, Luke gave in, his expression softening and he just dropped his face into his hands.

"Luke," Michael spoke, inching his way closer to the younger boy. "I--I'm sorry for liking Jack."

"No, Michael," Calum said, "you don't get to apologize for having feelings."

"But I--"

"Calum's right," Luke finally said, his face never leaving his hands. "It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault." He sighed. "It's not Ashton's fault he likes Jack. He just so happens to be a likable guy to everyone while I'm just the younger brother no one knows about or even likes."

Michael took Calum's spot on the bed next to Luke, wrapping an arm around the blond's shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, after hearing about what an ass Jack is it makes me like him less."

Luke snorted, glancing at Michael. "Sure, whatever."

A small smile made its way onto Michael's face. "To be honest, I do consider Jack as a friend, but you and I have been hanging out more than I have with Jack, so naturally I'd like you more as a friend." Michael rolled his lips between his teeth slightly before letting them go. "And I may have a crush on Jack, but I swear upon my life that I am not going to leave you for him."

The younger boy raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Michael nodded proudly.

Calum cleared his throat, the younger boys glancing up at him. Calum then said, "I stand with you, Luke. I agree that Ashton isn't just a person you can call dibs on by admitting you like him, but I don't agree with Jack betraying his own brother the way he did. I'm sure Jack knew perfectly well what he was doing and that he was deliberately hurting you, and to me that is not okay. I don't care if he's normally a nice person to everyone and that he's been one of my closest friends since the beginning of our high school years--I cannot support his actions against you."

Luke smiled. "Thanks."

"Although, we can't just separate Jack and Ashton from one another. That doesn't make us any better. All we can do now is just let it be. However--" Calum gestured towards his stepbrother "--Michael and I will do our best to help you through this."

"Yeah!" Michael agreed. Then he glared at Calum, dropping his arm from Luke. "This is only a temporary truce. I'm only going to put up with you for Luke. I still hate you."

Calum shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Hey, Michael." Both Michael and Calum turned their eyes towards Luke who was looking next to him. "You said you like me as a friend. So you now consider me a friend? No longer a close acquaintance?"

Michael rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're now a friend to me. And friends always got each other's backs."

Luke nodded in agreement.

"So, anyway," Calum spoke up, "I'm going to head over to the mall. I'm planning on going to Ben's Parlor to get a haircut and a tattoo. Do you two want to come along?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Michael said, "But Mom and Dad don't like tattoos and you're not at the minimum age to get it without their permission."

"Actually, I do have their permission." He walked over to the computer dress and opened up one of the drawers, pulling out a piece of paper. "In writing."

"Mom's signature doesn't even look like tha--oh."

Calum nodded. "Now you catch my drift. Plus, it's gonna be on my chest, so they shouldn't see it and I won't let them until I turn eighteen."

"I want to get my eyebrow pierced!" Michael jumped onto his feet, bouncing on his toes. "I mean, I'm old enough to get one without having to ask for permission."

"Mom and Dad don't like piercings either," Calum reminded, "and you can't hide an eyebrow piercing from them."

"No, but I'm not the goody two-shoes, so I don't give a fuck."

"Calum?" Luke said, the older boy looking at him. "I'll go with you. Also, do you think you can write me up a note, too?"

Michael raised his eyebrows in amusement and joked, "Wow, Luke is such a little rebel."

Calum sat down at the computer desk, grabbing a blank paper and a pen. He clicked the pen and asked, "What is it that you want, Luke?"

Luke grinned.


	18. Chapter 17

Luke got home a little bit around nine after being dropped off by Calum. All the lights were out, which most likely meant that his mom was out at a friend's house and Jack was still on his date with Ashton.

Recalling that Ashton said he and Jack were going to have dinner together and another special surprise to follow, Luke could safely assume that Jack wasn't going to be back until later that evening. He was quite grateful for that, because he didn't want to see his dumb brother anyway.

After going into his bedroom to drop off the bag of things Calum had bought for him (they did a little bit of shopping after going to Ben's Parlor), Luke stared at his reflection in the mirror. He wasn't sure how long it would take for him to get used to his new look.

His blond hair had been trimmed and styled up into a messy quiff. This style was going to take Luke some getting used to. There were times when he would be tempted to run his fingers through his hair, but he'd stop himself before actually doing it. He didn't want to mess up his quiff, even though at some point he was going to have to and fix up his hair on his own (hence why Calum had bought Luke a bunch of products to help the younger boy literally keep his hair in shape).

Luke's eyes looked downwards so they were now staring a piece of metal that was now pierced through the skin under his bottom lip. He could feel one end of the stud against his tongue, and every once in a while his tongue would rub at the metal. The skin around the piercing was still a bit sore. Yeah, this one especially was going to take him a while to adjust to.

Wanting to eat a little bit, Luke went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He peered inside to see what he could eat, but frowned when not seeing many options. Or at least, nothing that he wanted to eat that had already been prepared. Instead, he decided that he would settle with cereal. He pulled the milk out of the refrigerator and then went to where the cereals, grabbing the Lucky Charms box and carrying the two things in his hands to the kitchen table.

He got himself a bowl and spoon and started pouring the cereal in first and then the milk. It wasn't much for dinner, but he supposed it was better than not eating at all. 

As Luke ate and sat in comfortable silence other than the occasional spoon clinking against the bowl, he heard the front door opening.

"Hey, Mom," Luke said when he heard the person enter the kitchen, not bothering to look.

"Guess again."

Luke just rolled his eyes and resumed to finishing the cereal.

"You got your hair done," Jack commented. "It looks nice."

"I thought you'd come home later," Luke grumbled, taking another spoonful of milk and Lucky Charms.

"Ashton had to go home early, so now I'm home. Also, put away the milk if you're not using it." The older Hemmings went to grab the milk to put it back in the refrigerator, but his eyes glanced at Luke's face and grew wide. "Holy shit--Luke, when did you get that?"

"Get what?" Luke knew exactly what Jack was talking about. He was just going to play it cool.

"The piercing! You're not even at the legal age to get a piercing without parental consent! Dude, you also know how Mom feels about facial piercings. She's going to freak when she sees that."

Luke shrugged. "I don't care. It's my face, not hers. I can do what I want with it."

Jack folded his arms on top of the table before leaning against them, eyes still on Luke. "You need to take that out before Mom sees it."

Scoffing, Luke said defiantly, "No way. I like it. If she gets upset, grounds me, or forcefully rips it out of my face, whatever." He finished the last bite of his cereal and stood up, walking to the sink and placing the bowl and spoon in it.

Luke left to the bathroom when Jack had nothing more to say. He cleaned himself up before heading towards his room and locking the door behind him. He was tired of his brother's crap and wanted to be left alone for the rest of the evening (or forever even).

Just like what he wanted, no one bothered Luke at all and he was able to sleep peacefully.

-

As expected, the next morning Luke got an earful from Liz when she saw the piercing. He had his arms crossed over his chest and back against the wall, saying nothing as his mom was scolding him. In the past Luke would have been in tears if his mom yelled at him for anything.

Right now he felt nothing at all.

Jack had left the house fifteen minutes ago because Liz wanted him to go to the store and buy a few things on a shopping list she had provided for him, so thankfully Luke didn't have to see Jack's smug look that said 'I told you so,' but he didn't care whether Jack told him so or not. The deed had already been done, anyway.

Liz then said to Luke, "I want you to take that out."

"No, I like it," Luke said, his face making him appear annoyed as a finger tapped against the stud.

"I don't want you arguing with me, and don't you dare make that face at me." Liz crossed her arms and Luke groaned.

"I'm keeping the piercing, Mom, and that's that. Sorry that you don't like it."

"Luke Robert Hemmings, if you don't take that out right now, you will be grounded."

"Then ground me, for all I care." Luke let out a frustrated groan and shook his head. He pushed himself off the wall and said, "I'm going to my room. Don't bother me."

Luke continued his way to his bedroom, his mom yelling out after him to come back. He didn't.

By the time Luke got to his room he made sure to slam the door shut as loud as possible, just to express to his mom how angry he was. Maybe the sound of a picture frame from the hallway falling to the ground was heard, but Luke made no effort to fix that and instead chose to let someone else deal with it.

Locking the door and then going to grab his phone off the table it was on, Luke curled up in his bed and looked through his phone, seeing he had a message from Calum. He opened up the new texts and saw that Calum was just telling him good morning, asking how Luke was, and if he got enough sleep last night.

A part of him wanted to rant to Calum about his mom wanted him to remove the lip stud after Calum had paid for the piercing to be done. Yes, Calum paid since Luke didn't have enough money on him at the time. Of course, Luke wanted to pay him back, but Calum said that it was on him.

He proceeded to type away on his phone to tell Calum that he was okay and sent the text with nothing else--not even bothering to bring up his mom or Jack. He locked his phone and set it down beside him before facing the ceiling and closing his eyes.

After a while he heard a light knock. He looked over at the door and walked over to it, expecting to see his mom and another argument between the two to ensue, even though he told her not to bother him.

Before he could open the door he heard a soft voice say, "Luke? Can you open the door?"

Luke froze in place, but not before retracting his hand from the doorknob. He wasn't prepared to hear Ashton's voice sounding from the other side of the door. He brought his hands up to his quiffed hair and tugged at it, as if he were trying to pull them out from their roots.

"Um, Ash?" Luke managed to force himself to say, pressing his back against the door. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"Well, last night Jack invited me to come over, but it doesn't look like he's home," Ashton explained. "Your mom told me that you were here but to not bother you." He paused. "Well, in hindsight, I probably should have listened to her. I'll go wait for Jack in his room."

"Wait." Luke was quick to open the door, and there he saw Ashton in a large black hoodie that made him appear much smaller than he was and basketball shorts. "Come in."

"Thank you--holy momma."

Luke watched as Ashton's eyes widened and jaw dropped in the middle of his sentence. He couldn't help the blush that coated his cheeks when Ashton took a step closer to him, his attention still focused on the new features on Luke.

"What--When did you get this done?" Ashton asked, his gaze still on the lip stud. He reached his hand out to poke at the piercing, but Luke quickly grabbed his wrist before he could.

"I-I got it yesterday," Luke explained, gently pushing Ashton's hand back towards him.

"Oh." Ashton let his hand fall to his side. "It looks nice on you. And I like your hair, too."

"Thanks?" Luke stepped to the side and Ashton walked into his room, taking a seat on a chair.

"So, what have you been up to?" Ashton asked, resting his left foot on his right knee.

"Not much," Luke answered, going to his bed and sitting on it. He grabbed his phone and pressed the home button, a message notification from Calum popping up. Without checking what Calum said, Luke locked his phone once more and set it down.

Ashton softly smiled. "What made you want to get your lip pierced?"

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "Calum planned to get a tattoo yesterday and I went with him along with Michael. It was kind of an impulse decision to pierce my lip, but I don't regret. I actually quite like it."

"You were with Michael yesterday?" The smile on Ashton's face faltered.

"Yeah. I upset him on Friday, so I went to his place to apologize to him and now we're on better terms again."

"Oh. Well, the piercing looks nice on you."

Luke grinned. "So you've said not even a minute ago."

"Did I? Whoops." Ashton laughed a bit. "But it's true. It suits you really well. You look like a completely different person."

"Is that bad?" Luke subconsciously ruffled his hair, messing it up a bit. Ashton stood from his spot and walked over to Luke, stepping in between Luke's knees and running his fingers through the blond quiff to fix it a bit. Luke's cheeks turned red as his blue eyes looked up at Ashton.

"Not bad. It's kind of nice to get a makeover at some point in your life. I'm surprised that your mom let you get a piercing on your lip."

Luke weakly chuckled. "She didn't."

Ashton's fingers stopped combing Luke's hair. "She didn't?"

"We got in an argument about it earlier before you showed up. She wanted me to take it out, but I wanted to leave it and then she grounded me for not obeying her."

"Oh. So, what happens when you're grounded?"

"It depends on whatever she sees fit. In this case, it probably means I can't go out and hang out with friends."

"Does that mean I shouldn't be in here?"

"Well, it's fine if my mom doesn't find out."

"Okay then." Ashton resumed to fix Luke's hair, although it seemed more like he was playing with it now. "Do you know when Jack is coming back?"

Luke refrained himself from letting out an annoyed groan. "No," he said. "I just know that he went shopping for Mom and left around a half-hour ago."

"I see. Is there anything you want to do before he gets back?"

"I don't know, sleep? But even when he does return I would still want to sleep."

Ashton giggled, somehow moving closer towards the taller boy as he said in a lower voice, "I meant with me."

Luke's cheeks were alternating between turning pale and red. "Uh, y-you mean as friends right?"

"Of course. How else could I mean it?"

"Well, it's just that your t-tone just sounded, um--" Luke cleared his throat "--s-suggestive?"

"Yeah. I was suggesting that we did something together."

"That's not what I meant--"

"Oh! I want to show you something!" Ashton stretched his hand out. "May I use your phone?"

"Sure?" Luke reached for his phone, unlocked it, and placed it in Ashton's hand. "But why can't you use your own?"

"I don't have one on me."

Luke blinked. "How do you not--"

Ashton turned himself around and suddenly sat down on Luke's thigh, surprising the latter boy. Luke's immediate reaction was to shove Ashton off of him and crawl onto his bed with his knees hugged to his chest, wide eyes staring at Ashton who had stumbled and nearly lost his balance from when Luke pushed him.

"A-Ash, you--y-y-you just--you can't just--Ashton!" Luke was sputtering at this point. He couldn't form coherent words; he could only groan and grab at his hair in exasperation. He tried his best to compose himself as Ashton looked at him with a concerned look.

"What's the matter, Luke?" Ashton questioned, tilting his head to the side and seeming utterly confused. "Did I do something wrong?"

Luke was in disbelief at that. "'What's the matter, Luke?' Are you for real right now? You can't just sit on my lap like that!"

"I--Luke, I didn't mean to do anything bad, I swear."

Instead of responding, Luke crossed his legs and dropped his face in his hands. Even though Ashton sat on him without warning, maybe Luke overreacted. Obviously Ashton didn't mean to upset him; maybe to Ashton sitting on people's lap probably didn't mean anything. After all, he was the kind of person to be touchy after all. But Luke didn't feel right for Ashton to just do that--especially since Luke liked him.

Now there was an awkward silence that hung above them. It was uncomfortable to Luke, and perhaps to Ashton as well. Luke didn't dare look up at Ashton who was still standing before him. He wanted the quiet to pass, but he couldn't come up with anything that could assuage the atmosphere.

Before Luke could finally muster up the confidence to speak, Ashton started before him, saying, "I'll just--I'm gonna go. I'm sorry."

As Ashton went to leave it was like Luke's body had a mind of its own, because his legs carried him over to the door and he pressed his hand against it, keeping it closed the moment Ashton's hand took a hold of the knob.

Luke had no idea what in the world he was doing.

Startled, Ashton yelped and immediately pulled his hand towards himself. He only turned his head to look at Luke with a puzzled look.

"S-Sorry," Luke said, instantly drawing away from the door and Ashton ultimately. "I don't--I'm not sure what came over me."

That wasn't what Luke wanted to say, but it was all he could think of just to say something.

Ashton appeared as if he didn't know how to respond to that. He just gave a short nod before opening the door and leaving.

When Ashton was out of sight, Luke leaned his forehead against the door and groaned loudly. Things were more awkward between Ashton and him, and he didn't know how to even fix things.

Hearing Jack's happy voice greet Ashton from the opposite side of the door, Luke thought that now wasn't the best time to amend things. He would handle things later. In the meantime, he needed to vent to someone about what had just happened, and that someone ended up being both Calum and Michael.

-

It was late evening already and Luke had been cooped up in his room for the majority of the day. The only time he ever went out was to use the bathroom or grab something to eat from the kitchen.

Luke had just finished taking a shower and drying his hair with a towel. He wrapped said towel around his waist and left the bathroom to head to his room.

Upon entering his room he saw that his bed was occupied by Ashton who was curled in a ball with a pillow hugged to into his chest. Luke blinked at the sight, but then looked away as he went to grab some clothes to wear.

He threw on a black shirt and shorts before he took a seat on his rolling chair, not wanting to sleep just yet. He picked up his phone and went to YouTube, plugging earbuds in and watching an animated video that was in his recommendations.

From the edge of his eye Luke saw movement. When he glanced up he noticed Ashton was now rubbing sleepily at his tired eyes while the pillow was still in his embrace. He pulled out an earbud and stood up from the chair, walking over to Ashton and giving his shoulder a gentle shake.

"You staying over tonight?" Luke said.

Ashton nodded. "Is that okay?"

"That's fine, but it's a school night. Where's your backpack?"

"I brought it over and just left it in Jack's room. But, you know, I'm not allowed to sleep in there."

Luke bit his bottom lip. "Go clean up and then sleep, okay?"

With that being said, Ashton moved off the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. Luke remained where he was on the chair and continued with watching videos.

After a few minutes, Ashton returned to the room and climbed into Luke's bed and plopped down on it. Deciding it was time for himself to sleep as well, Luke went to turn off the bedroom light. The moon shone from outside through the window, illuminating the place a little bit so Luke could still see his way around the room.

Luke approached his bed and lay down on it. Not wanting to look at Ashton, he kept his back facing the shorter boy. He got himself comfortable and closed his eyes.

He really tried to sleep, honestly. But it was hard for him to do so right now when he was aware of Ashton's presence behind him and the fact that nothing between the two had been resolved regarding earlier's situation. He just didn't know where to start. There was still tension between the two, and he could practically feel it.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open when a body pressed against him. Ashton was now very close to him and Luke sighed, resting his head back onto the pillow.

"Ash, go back to your side," Luke mumbled, trying to move himself away.

"C-Can you hold me?"

Luke glanced back to see Ashton had his head down, as if he were embarrassed with with request.

"Why me?" Luke questioned. "Isn't that Jack's job? Go sneak in his room and cuddle him. I'll wake you up early enough in the morning so my mom doesn't catch you."

Ashton shook his head. "I-I mean, yeah, I should be asking Jack, but he's probably sleeping and I don't want to bother him."

"Waking him up so he can hold you is better than me holding you. Just go."

Ashton kept quiet.

Luke turned his face away from Ashton. "Why do you even want to be held, anyway?"

"Never mind. Forget I said anything." After that, Ashton turned his back to the other boy and moved to the opposite side of the bed.

Luke tried to forget what Ashton said, but it was unfortunately eating at his mind. He could imagine Ashton sulking right now, and the sight was kind of heartbreaking.

He really hated how much he liked him.

A few minutes since Ashton spoke had passed before Luke finally sighed, turning onto his other side and wrapping one arm around Ashton. He heard the other boy gasp lightly, showing that he was surprised by the action.

"Don't tell Jack," Luke grumbled.

"O-Okay," Ashton said, scooting back a bit so he was pressed against Luke's chest.

Luke really wanted to push the smaller boy away. He really wanted to make Ashton leave. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Yet here he was, holding Ashton while his brother slept soundly in the other room, completely unaware of what was happening in Luke's room.

He really wanted to withdraw himself when he felt fingers lace with his. But Luke did nothing to stop any of this--a mistake he couldn't bring himself to not make.

"Um, Lukey?" Ashton spoke softly, causing Luke's face to flush as his ears perked up.

"Y-Yeah?" he said, cursing himself mentally for stuttering.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't think sitting on your lap would upset you so much."

Luke wanted to be the one to apologize first, but he supposed it couldn't be helped now. "I'm sorry for reacting the way I did. Maybe next time just tell me before you do something. I really was surprised."

Well, at least that part was covered. Sort of.

Ashton nodded. "And, um, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while. I should've told you sooner, but it was just--it was too embarrassing for me to bring up." Ashton played with his and Luke's fingers, bringing them up closer to his chest.

Luke gulped nervously. "All right. What is it?" 

"It's kind of the main reason why I wanted you to hold me..."

Now Luke's heart was racing even faster. He tried to draw himself away from Ashton so the shorter boy couldn't feel the heartbeats, but he didn't get very far since Ashton was still holding his hand.

A bunch of possible reasons kept running through his mind after Ashton had said that. The first thing that came to mind was that maybe Ashton had a crush on him, even though he was dating Jack. Of course, there were other reasons, but that one stuck with him in particular. But he knew he shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet, so he waited for Ashton to give the real reason for wanting to be held.

"I-I don't know how it started," Ashton began, his voice shaking a bit, "but ever since a couple of months ago, before school even started, I've had a tendency to panic."

"Panic?" Luke repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Ashton nodded. "It just happens. Sometimes over the smallest things too. There are times when I'm panicking so much my heart starts to beat harder and faster and I can't control my breathing and then I--" He didn't finish his sentence. It didn't seem like he could bring himself to do it.

During the silence Luke tightened his hold on Ashton, as if he were trying to protect the smaller boy as he opened up more to him. He wasn't sure what he could say to make things better, but maybe silence was what Ashton needed right now.

There were many things that Luke wanted to ask Ashton right now. Just to list a few: Why would Ashton tell him this? Why was he panicking now that he wanted--or needed--Luke to hold him? Did Jack know about this? He should, right?

However, Luke noticed that Ashton was taking in deep breaths. Luke tried to get himself in a more comfortable position, but Ashton's hold on his hand tightened and kept him from moving away. That was when he also noticed how fast Ashton's heart was beating.

"Please don't go," Ashton said quietly. "It comforts me when you hold me."

"I'm not going anywhere," Luke reassured.

"Promise?"

Luke got on his forearm and hovered over Ashton a bit, the shorter boy turning his face towards Luke so the two were looking at each other in the dark.

"I promise."

Blue eyes flickered towards Ashton's lips that were slightly parted before looking back up to big hazel eyes. The gaze the two held, it wasn't uncomfortable at all. Luke would have liked for the moment to last much longer.

A while passed and Luke couldn't contain his wildly racing heart. Looking at Ashton's face, how beautiful the boy was beneath him... His emotions were starting to overtake his mind and get the best of him. And before he could stop himself--or even remotely regret his choice--he went for it.

Ashton gasped when Luke's lips were placed on his cheek, gently leaving a trail of kisses towards his neck that were causing him to shiver. Luke could feel the slight pressure on where the lip stud was, but he didn't care. He kept on going.

It should have, but it didn't stop there. Luke let the tip of his tongue brush against Ashton's skin. He pulled his hand away from Ashton's and with his finger hooked onto the shirt that covered Ashton's shoulder before tugging at it and moving his lips to the smooth skin there.

"L-Luke," Ashton whimpered when Luke began nibbling on his skin. After squirming for a bit, he turned his face into the pillow and panted into it, grabbing a fistful of the sheets underneath him.

Right now Luke felt his heart pounding hard against his chest as he continued to bite and lick at Ashton's shoulder while Ashton's muffled moans filled his ears.

Luke knew what he was doing was wrong. He was sure Ashton knew as well it was wrong. But he was too far into it and couldn't make himself stop, even though he really had to or else he wouldn't know what he would do next.

Kissing at Ashton's skin some more, he proceeded to move upwards to his neck again and felt Ashton tilt his head in a way to give Luke more room. He let go of Ashton's collar and slid his hand down to Ashton's waist to lightly squeeze his hip. He heard Ashton say his name softly over and over again followed by him eventually placing a hand over Luke's.

"St-Stop," Ashton managed to say after a while in between breaths, "please, Luke. M-My heart, it's beating too fast. Need to calm down."

Luke did as Ashton said almost immediately since he was admittedly reluctant to stop. He brought his lips close to Ashton so his hot breath hit the shell of the smaller boy's ear. He then rested his hand over where Ashton's heart was, and it was indeed beating fast and hard.

In a way to hopefully calm Ashton, he brushed the back of his fingers softly against the side of Ashton's face and whispered, "Take deep breaths and go to sleep, Ash. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Okay." Ashton scooted closer to Luke and tried to even out his breaths while Luke comfortingly rubbed his cheek. "Good night, Lukey."

"Good night, Ash."

As Ashton was focused on his breathing, Luke drew away from him and let his eyes flicker towards the dark patch on Ashton's skin. He nearly let out a heavy sigh as realization hit him at what he had done.

Jack was going to kill him.


	19. Chapter 18

The following morning Luke woke up noticeably earlier than usual since it was still a little dark out and saw that he was still holding Ashton, the smaller boy facing him and cuddling into him. He told himself to move away from Ashton, but he was also too tired and tried going back to sleep and snuggling closer to Ashton for warmth.

A few minutes later his phone began to vibrate and Luke groaned, running a hand over his face before reaching over the sleeping boy to grab at his phone. He saw that he was getting a call from Michael and then proceeded to answer him.

"Hello?" Luke said in a tired voice, his hand rubbing at his eyes as he felt Ashton stir beneath him.

"Hey, Luke, can I bring the skirt to school and put it on there?" Michael asked.

Luke sort of forgot about the bet. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Do whatever."

"Okay. Can you meet me in front of school in an hour?"

He looked at the time and saw that it was nearing six. He didn't know why Michael was even up so early, but he didn't question him on that.

"Fine, I'll be there. See you." Luke hung up and just remained where he was. He glanced back down at Ashton before turning away and letting out a yawn. He nearly went back to sleep since he could spare a few minutes to be with Ashton, but instead forced himself to go directly to the bathroom and clean up in there.

A while after he had finished brushing his teeth, washing his face, and styling his hair, he returned to his room and searched through his clothes for something to wear. He selected jeans and a dark blue shirt before he threw that on, glancing at Ashton once more as he zipped up his leather jacket.

The smaller boy was still asleep, his face now nuzzling into the pillow as he lay on his stomach. Luke's eyes trailed over to Ashton's neck, his face paling when what happened last night came to his mind.

He couldn't believe that he had done that. What was he thinking when he had done it? Obviously, he wasn't. Sure, he liked kissing Ashton's neck, but the fact that he had done it behind his brother's back and Ashton didn't agree to it only made him feel like a horrible person for doing it, let alone enjoying it.

Gathering his things, Luke quickly left his place and started walking to school, looking at his phone to notice he had plenty of time to get to school to see Michael. He decided to text the older boy to let him know he was on his way.

A few seconds after the text had been sent, his phone began to ring. Luke furrowed his eyebrows when seeing Michael's name come up. He answered anyway. "Hello?"

"Are you really on your way to school now?" asked Michael.

"Um, yes? I thought you wanted me to go to school."

"I wanted you to meet me at seven, and I haven't even left the house yet. You can't be at school before me. I won't allow it."

Luke smirked. "Too bad."

He heard Michael huff. "Fine. I'll hurry up. Give me about thirty minutes. I'd be there sooner, but I have to walk since Calum slept over at a friend's place, so I've no ride."

"Okay. I'll see you later." Then Luke hung up without waiting for Michael to say anything.

During the rest of the trip to school, Luke thought of last night. Ashton submitted to him so easily, it made Luke's face grow red. He started to wonder if Ashton was always this submissive when it came to these things.

Luke mentally smacked himself. He needed to stop. Ashton has a boyfriend. He can't be thinking about him in such a way. Well, he could, but he shouldn't let them become external actions. He couldn't exactly control what his mind came up with, but he could control what he did about it.

What he did last night was not meant to happen. It shouldn't have even happened. It was a mistake. Luke wasn't meant to see Ashton squirming beneath him and moaning his name as he kissed his neck.

Luke needed to stop before he got even more turned on.

"Stop it, Luke. Dead puppies, dead puppies," he mumbled to himself, taking deep breaths.

Maybe he shouldn't have thought of dead puppies. That only depressed him. But at least he wasn't thinking of Ash--

Never mind.

Luke arrived at school eventually, however still having extra time before he was supposed to meet with Michael. He went to lean against the wall, thumbs tucked in the pocket of his jeans. He would play with his lip stud a little bit as he watched other students walk past him. After a while, he got bored and decided to idly look through his phone. There wasn't much to do on it, but he didn't know what else to do.

It had been fifteen minutes since Luke arrived and he was just now seeing Michael walking in the distance. He straightened himself up, smirk on his face as Michael made his way up to him.

"Cool, we're here," Michael said. He walked over to Luke and grabbed his wrist, leading him inside school. "Let's go. Time is of the essence. Make haste!"

"You're kinda eager to put this skirt on, if I didn't know any better," Luke said.

"I'm not. Stop saying such nonsense."

Luke merely chuckled as Michael just continued to pull him down the halls and towards the restroom. Before entering, the older boy turned to the younger.

"You're on lookout," he said, pointing at Luke. "Make sure no one walks in."

Nodding, Luke watched as Michael disappeared into the restroom. He then leaned against the wall by the door and crossed his arms, making noises with his lips to somehow entertain him. His eyes glanced upwards before looking down at his feet, pocketing his hands in his jacket.

He let out a yawn, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He didn't know why Michael wanted to do this at school, and so early too. Maybe he was too embarrassed to walk to school in a skirt. Or maybe he wanted less time with the skirt on, so he chose to put it on at school. Then again, he came to school early to do it, so maybe that didn't make much sense. Luke shrugged. At least he wasn't the one dealing with it.

Even though he was supposed to be keeping an eye out, Luke had been unaware of his surroundings. He only realized this when another pair of feet with black Vans came into his line of sight.

"Hey, Luke," said the person, catching Luke off guard as he nearly jumped with surprise.

"Hey!" Luke immediately exclaimed as blue eyes darted over to see that it had been Calum in front of him. He was pretty sure Calum was the last person Michael wanted to see. Wow, he was really bad at lookout. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

The brunet beamed. "A friend and I have been doing some extra training for a thing coming up for track in two weeks. I decided to call it a morning and meet up with another friend. What about you? How are you?"

"I'm--I'm fine, yeah." Luke tried to keep his eyes anywhere but at the restroom, scratching the tip of his nose. "No unordinary things happening so far. Nothing at all."

However, Calum seemed to have noticed Luke attempting to not look suspicious. Tilting his head up a little and narrowing his eyes at Luke, he said, "What are you hiding in there, Hemmings?"

"Nothing! No, no. I'm not hiding anything. I'm just chilling here--wait, don't go in there!"

Calum had pushed past Luke and entered the restroom, going over to the only closed stall. He knocked his fist against the door, but Michael yelled out, "Occupied, asshole! Out of all the stalls you could've gone to, you chose this one?!"

Rolling his eyes, Calum said, "It's me."

Michael paused. "Get out, Calum."

"Luke wasn't very subtle about playing guard outside, you know. What are you even doing in there?"

"Taking a shit. What else?"

"And you needed Luke to stand outside, because...?"

"Can you just leave?"

"I swear to God, I will kick down this door if you're trying to destroy the school's pipes again."

Luke's eyes became bigger. "Again?"

Calum briefly looked towards the shocked blond. "Shush, not now, Luke." Then he turned back to the restroom stall. "Michael--"

"I'm not plotting against the school! Just--leave, please."

Luke slowly stepped in between Calum and the door, smiling innocently at the older boy as he said, "Just go. It's not bad and you'll see eventually. Trust me." He patted Calum's shoulder gently before directing him out of the restroom.

Calum didn't press on further. He just stuttered out an 'O-Okay then,' before finally being pushed out and walking away. Luke let out a relieved sigh and approached the stall where Michael was still in. He shoved his hands in his pockets and blew out a puff of air before saying, "He's gone now. You ready?"

The door suddenly slammed open, making Luke jump in surprise at the loud sound. Before he could look at Michael, a pair of jeans were thrown at his face and caused him to stumble back a bit as Michael pushed past him.

"Ugh, why does Calum have to be such a nosy bitch? Anyway, let's get a move on, weird kid," Michael snapped.

"I thought we were past that name," Luke groaned as he folded Michael's jeans and threw them over his shoulder. He turned around to see Michael washing his hands at the sink. Then he found himself looking at the back of Michael's awkwardly pale and smooth legs and moved upwards to the ruffles of the white skirt that only covered a little bit of his thighs.

"Hey! Eyes up here," Michael said as he glared at Luke through the mirror. He twisted himself around and walked over to Luke, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him towards the restroom door.

"Michael, ow! Let go!" Luke shouted. Then he was thrown against the wall and Michael gripped his collar, drawing their faces closer until they were

"Say anything and I will rip your piercing out with my hands," Michael growled.

Luke widened his eyes. "Hey, chill, will you? You were the one who initiated the bet and now you're being all salty."

"I lost and I'm going to embarrass myself in front of the entire school. Of course I'm going to be salty about it! Now listen, Hemmings!" He tugged Luke closer until their foreheads were touching. "If you say anything related to the skirt--especially how I look!--then I'm gonna punch your throat so hard the next person who walks by is going to feel it!"

"Okay, I get it! I wasn't going to say anything about how a skirt oddly suits you!" His face paled. "I-I mean--"

Michael's face flushed red, at first from embarrassment and then anger. "Luke!"

"I'm sorry!"

The door opened and a student walked in whistling a random tune, but before his hand left the door his eyes fell on Luke and Michael and his whistling was cut short. He just blinked at them a few times and then he was walking backwards out of the restroom, the door shutting after him.

Michael let out an annoyed groan. "Look what you did! You scared him off!"

Luke gaped at him. "Me?! You're the one who shoved me against the wall and is wearing a--"

"Finish that sentence and I will rip your dick off and shove it down your throat."

Luke held his tongue. Michael smirked.

"Good." Michael left the restroom first, hands clasped together behind him. Luke folded the jeans and placed it over his shoulder before rushing out to follow after Michael, walking next to him.

Luke noticed eyes staring at Michael whenever the two passed by other students. It was clear by how Michael was scowling straight ahead that he was trying his best to ignore everyone and not snap at them. And maybe Michael linking his arm with Luke's and pressing himself closer was a way for him to seek some sort of comfort.

With all the attention on them (maybe mostly on Michael) Luke was a little bit embarrassed, his teeth lightly biting down on his bottom lip. He just avoided eye contact from anyone and let Michael lead him to wherever he wanted to take him.

The two wound up at Michael's locker and the older boy went to open it, taking his jeans from Luke, and throwing them carelessly inside before slamming it shut. Luke hadn't said anything since he felt like if he spoke he would upset Michael.

"So," Michael said as he turned to Luke, causing him to freeze up, "do you really think the skirt suits me?"

Luke gulped. "A-Am I supposed to answer that? 'Cause I'm scared to, if I'm being honest."

"You were the one who let it slip out first. Might as well be honest right now since I asked."

Luke scratched the back of his neck. "Yes? Well, I mean, it at least doesn't look bad on you."

Michael grinned. "I figured that if I'm gonna wear a skirt, I might as well look good in one. So I shaved last night, and now my legs feel even more naked than they already are."

"You have to shave to look good?"

"No, but it was my choice to shave anyway. Did you eat breakfast yet? Because I haven't. I left the house the moment I finished getting ready for school and am now in dire need of food."

Luke shook his head. "I didn't eat yet, but I'm not that hungry. Let's go grab somethin' for you to eat then."

Michael nodded and the two headed for the cafeteria. The older boy grabbed his breakfast and Luke just got himself orange juice before they went to sit down at an empty table. Michael happily ate his food while Luke remained seated as he awkwardly took small sips from his juice carton.

"Luke, come sit next to me," Michael said, since they were seated across from each other. "I'm too lazy to move."

Luke rolled his eyes, but did as Michael said, taking the spot beside Michael. He reached for his orange juice and proceeded to drink more of it.

Michael began to say, "Okay, so, at the end of the day when we're finished with our last class, I'm going to hurry to the restroom we were at earlier today and change back, and I want you to meet me there. You better be there by the time I'm finished getting dressed."

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Because. Anyway, go buy me more food, peasant."

Luke sighed. "Seriously?"

"I'll pay you back, I swear."

"That's not the problem, but whatever." Luke stood from his spot, his eyes still on Michael who was finishing up his food. "What do you want?"

"Michael?"

Luke froze. He recognized that voice anywhere. And by the look on Michael's face, he did as well.

The two turned around and there they saw Jack holding hands with Ashton, who was wearing Jack's scarf around his neck for reasons probably only he and Luke knew.

Luke's eyes were wide, but not as wide as Michael's. Luke didn't know how to react, Ashton looked as if he was confused, Jack seemed surprised, and Michael was mortified.

The older Hemmings looked Michael up and down before clearing his throat and saying, "I like your skirt. Are you trying out a new look finally? You've wanted to do that for a while. Oh, and I see you've got an eyebrow piercing done as well. Looks good."

"We got our piercings together" Luke said as he subconsciously stood in between Jack and Michael, seeing that Michael didn't look like he was going to be saying anything any time soon. "And we both like our piercings, no matter what anyone says."

Jack sighed, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Keep your piercings. They suit you two, anyway. It's just that some people don't like them and--"

"Did you want something?" Luke narrowed his eyes at his brother as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well," Jack motioned to Ashton, "Ash wanted food, but then we saw you here and decided to walk over and say hello."

Luke glanced down at Ashton whose hazel eyes quickly averted away from his. He noticed how his hold on Jack's hand tightened and Luke forced himself to look back at his brother.

"Yeah, and you've overstayed that. So you can leave."

He was pretty sure he saw Ashton flinch, but he chose to believe that he was just imagining it.

Jack frowned, but recovered that with a soft smile. "See you two around. Let's go, Ash." He glanced between his brother and a still stunned Michael before waving at them and heading off. Ashton just glanced back at Luke and Michael before facing forward again. Luke wondered what Ashton was thinking about.

"Come on, Michael. Let's leave," Luke said, tugging at Michael whose face was still displaying embarrassment. His cheeks had been tinted red and he looked as if he would fall over at any moment.

"Luke, I--I'm going to throw up," Michael mumbled, his arms now wrapped around his stomach. "I want to crawl in a hole and die."

"What? Don't say that. Why?" Luke lowered himself so he was eye level with Michael

"Can we go to the nurse? Please?"

"Yeah, of course." Luke nodded, helping Michael up and placing his arm around Michael's waist before leading him out of the cafeteria and to the nurse's office. With his free hand, he pulled out his phone and proceeded to type on it.

By the time Luke finished what he was doing, the two arrived at the nurse's office and Michael was taken to one of the beds as Luke explained to the nurse what was going on. Michael was instructed to rest and Luke was given permission to stay with him under Michael's request.

The nurse left momentarily and Luke took his leather jacket off, handing it to Michael who then placed the clothing over his lap.

Once Luke took a seat on the edge of the bed, the door swung open and then walked in Calum, the brunet appearing out of breath like he had run to the nurse's office.

"Calum?" Michael asked, crossing his legs and making sure Luke's jacket was covering every part of his legs. "Wh-Why are you here?"

Calum lifted his phone, huffing as he explained, "Luke texted me. Told me it was an emergency and to come here right away."

Michael shot a glare at Luke who raised his hands up in defense and said, "He has to know, too."

Calum approached Michael and knelt down beside him. "Michael, are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt? Sick?" He placed a hand up to Michael's forehead. "Do you have a fever? I can't tell, my hands are cold."

"Calum," Michael said in a tone begging him to stop. He pushed his hand away. "Stop acting like you care."

"Answer me, Mikey."

Michael just looked into Calum's worried eyes and then he sighed, straightening out his legs and removing Luke's jacket to reveal the skirt underneath.

"That's it?" Calum said, sounding relieved. He placed a gentle hand on Michael's skirt-covered thigh. "Michael, it's just a skirt. No one's going to hurt you or make fun of you. And if they do--"

"It's not that," Michael said, his eyes beginning to form tears. "J-Jack saw me wearing this and I thought I was gonna pass out."

"But Jack's not going to judge you for wearing a skirt. He's the last person to judge anyone's appearance."

"I know, but--" Michael gulped and licked at his lips "--I got so embarrassed when he saw me. I didn't know if my heart was beating really fast or not beating at all. The whole room seemed like it was spinning, and I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to pass out right then and there."

Luke's mind instantly went to Ashton when he confessed about his panic attacks last night, but he shook away the boy from his head. Right now he couldn't be thinking of Ashton when Michael was panicking right now, all because of a stupid bet the two made.

"I don't even know why I didn't even think about Jack when I made the bet," Michael continued on. "Well, actually I did when I lost, but I didn't think I'd get so humiliated by it. I thought I could handle it if he saw me, but clearly I can't."

Michael leaned his head against Luke's shoulder and just let out a heavy breath. Luke put his arm around Michael, rubbing his shoulder gently to calm him.

Calum didn't say anything for a while. His eyes glanced from Michael's face to the skirt he wore before he turned away and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he stood up and pulled his backpack in front of him before placing it at the foot of the bed, unzipping it and reaching his hand inside.

Luke watched as Calum pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and then set his unopened backpack down. He extended the sweatpants towards Michael.

"Take off the skirt and put these on," Calum said.

Michael shook his head, but more in confusion. "I don't understand--"

"I don't give a crap about the bet, and you shouldn't either. Take off the skirt and put the sweatpants on."

"Just listen to him," Luke said, eyes on him now. "Who cares about some stupid bet?"

Resignedly, Michael took the sweatpants from Calum and looked up at him with teary eyes. "I have my jeans in my locker."

Calum shrugged. "Yeah, well, that's all the way across school and these are already here, so you might as well just wear them, okay?"

"Why do you even have sweatpants in your backpack?"

"These are my spares that I took out of my track locker on Friday to wash them at home, since I had let a friend borrow them. I was bringing them back today. I have another pair for practice, but when you can, switch back to your jeans and just give these back to me whenever. Or wear them the entire day, it doesn't matter."

Michael smiled. "Thank you, Calum."

Calum smiled, too. "Anything for my brother." He ruffled Michael's hair a bit. "Now, go get changed already and give me the skirt so I can burn it."

"Um, that skirt belongs to Alex."

Luke raised a brow and asked, "Your ex? You guys broke up and she never came back for it. I doubt she's going to miss her skirt."

Both Calum and Michael blinked at Luke. Then Calum said, "She's a he."

Luke's face flushed pink. "Oh."

Calum looked at Michael. "So what if it belongs to Alex? You moved on, haven't you? Unless you getting embarrassed because Jack saw you in a skirt was all for shits and giggles."

"Shut up," Michael mumbled, punching Calum's side.

Calum's phone rung and he pulled it out, looking at it before glancing up at the younger boys.

"I gotta get to class. I have a group presentation today and I need to prep for that," he explained. He then gave Michael a pointed look. "Get changed now."

Michael nodded. He stood from the bed and slipped on the sweatpants before removing the skirt from him. He picked it up and tossed it at Calum who put it inside his backpack.

Glancing downwards as Calum zipped his bag and put his arm through the strap, Michael said nearly quietly, "You know, I don't say this often--well, I don't say it at all--but I'm really glad that out of all the people in the world, I have you as my brother."

Calum's eyes widened. His mouth opened before closing, like he was about to speak but rethinking his words. Then he finally said, "Wow, um, th-thanks. That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me ever." He paused. "And possibly the only nice thing I'll ever hear from you to me. Do you think I can get that in pen?"

"Don't push it, you turd."

Calum laughed a bit. "See you later. Bye, Luke." He waved at the two before leaving.

Luke looked at Michael and said, "I'm gonna head to class now. I'll help you with whatever we're gonna learn today. And you will understand it."

"Shut up," Michael grumbled before pausing a moment. "Meet at the library after school?"

Luke gave him a thumbs up before gathering his things and leaving Michael alone.

As he approached the classroom, he saw Ashton standing outside with a whole apple in his hand. The shorter boy looked towards Luke, the two making eye contact with one another. Luke took a few deep breaths as he was getting closer to Ashton.

"What happened to your jacket?" Ashton asked, putting the apple in his jacket pocket as soon as Luke was within earshot.

Luke glanced down at himself, the realization that he had left his jacket with Michael hitting him. He mentally shrugged. Michael would give it back to him later.

"Michael has it," Luke answered. He motioned for Ashton to go inside the classroom. "Let's go to class."

Just as Luke was about to walk off, he felt Ashton grab his wrist to hold him back. He looked back at him in confusion.

"We still have time," Ashton said. "Can we talk?" He gently began to tug a puzzled Luke away from the classroom, not even waiting for him to answer.

There was a lot of things that Ashton could want to talk about, Luke didn't know what to expect from him. What did the shorter boy even want with him? Whatever it was, surely it could have waited until later, couldn't it?

Ashton led Luke to a more secluded area where not a lot of people passed by. Luke leaned against the wall and Ashton let go of Luke's wrist.

Fraught silence hung above them, and it was nerve-racking for Luke. He waited patiently for Ashton to say something, but the younger boy now had his eyes looking down between them.

Luke licked his lips and spoke softly, "So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Huh?" Ashton's eyes finally met his.

"You wanted to talk, right? What was it?"

"Oh. Um--" Ashton clasped his hands together, fingers playing with each other. "I just, uh... well, about last night..."

Luke's face paled, his eyes glancing at Ashton's neck and looking at where the marks would be visible if they weren't hidden underneath the scarf. He mentally slapped himself on the forehead, because of course the situation would have to come up at some point.

He still couldn't believe that he let himself do that. Why did he do that? Why was life so unfair to him? Why couldn't he just not like Ashton?

In all honesty, Luke didn't even want to know what Ashton had to say, regarding the matter at issue. He assumed that Ashton would say something along the lines of it being a mistake or that he regretted it, so before Ashton could even speak Luke said it first.

"What happened last night shouldn't have even happened in the first place," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry about it. It was a mistake that I made. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Oh." Ashton sounded genuinely shocked from what Luke had said. The shorter boy glanced down at his fingers before he nodded his head. "Yeah, okay. I agree."

If Luke didn't know any better, he would have thought that the tone in Ashton's voice was saying otherwise. Of course, Ashton meant everything he said. There was no reason for him to lie to Luke. Why would he, anyway?

The bell to go to class finally rang, but the two boys didn't make any effort to move to class. They remained where they stood, but suddenly Ashton inched his way closer to Luke and wrapped his arms around him, resting his head against his shoulder.

Already this caught Luke by surprise, but he just hugged back anyway. Luke was pretty sure the shorter boy was acting weird.

"You okay?" Luke asked.

However, Ashton didn't answer the question. Instead, he responded with another question.

"Who is Michael?"

"Uh..." Luke didn't understand where this question had come from. "He's a friend."

"Just a friend?"

"Yeah. Just a friend."

"How did you two become friends?"

"I don't remember exactly, but I approached him first and he was hostile towards me. I'm not sure when he started to see me as a friend though. We just... kind of happened."

Ashton slowly nodded in understanding. "He's good to you?"

"Okay." Luke narrowed his eyes and pulled himself away from the embrace. "What's with these questions about Michael?"

"Nothing."

"Ashton, you don't just randomly ask questions about someone for nothing."

"I just did."

Sighing, Luke dug his hands in the back pocket of his jeans. "Can you just be straightforward with me right now? What's your deal with Michael? You know, he told me once that he thought you hated him, but I said that he was wrong."

Ashton crossed his arms over his chest. "Well..."

Luke's eyes grew wide. He was confused. He didn't recall seeing the two ever holding an actual conversation with each other, so naturally he didn't understand why Ashton felt that way about Michael.

"Why don't you like him?" he asked.

Ashton didn't say anything and merely shrugged.

"He's not a bad guy, honestly. Sure, he's rude at first, but after getting to know him then you'll see what I mean."

"I'm sure you're right."

Luke had a frown formed on his face. He was getting peeved. "Then why? What is it about him that you don't like? Why don't you try to get to know him then?"

"I don't want to," Ashton mumbled, his eyes looking down between them.

Luke shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ashton, of all people, didn't want to make a friend.

"I don't get it," Luke said, "I remember the first day of school you wanted to be my friend. You were so happy that you made a friend, and now you won't even bother giving Michael a chance just 'cause--I don't know, there's no reason! You're being unreasonable!"

"Luke, I--" Ashton spoke softly, but stopped himself from saying anything more, like he had second thoughts with his response.

Taking a deep breath, Luke tugged at his bottom lip with his teeth. "Okay, fine. Hate Michael all you want. I just don't get why you would dislike someone you don't know."

"It's stupid," Ashton murmured.

"Exactly."

"No, m-my reason. I don't hate him, okay? But I don't want to get to know him. I-I can't tell you why, though."

Luke couldn't imagine what the reason could possibly be, but he nodded anyway. Maybe Ashton didn't feel comfortable with Michael, but that didn't make sense to Luke, since the first day he met Ashton the boy was hyper beyond reason. Maybe he was intimidated by Michael, but Ashton wasn't the kind to be scared by another person in that way. What if he was jealous of their friendship? That made more sense than the other two reasons.

"I'll tell you one day," Ashton said, "but we should get to class now."

Reluctantly, Luke nodded. He didn't say anything to Ashton as the two proceeded to walk towards their class with less than two minutes left.

Luke did his best to ignore Ashton when he felt the smaller boy grab onto his hand. Now, he was pretty sure that Ashton's purpose of being in his life was to make things difficult for him.

The two entered the classroom, removing their hands from one another prior to entering. They sat down at their seats just in time for the bell to ring, the two exchanging brief eye contact before getting themselves ready for today's lesson.

Throughout the lesson, Luke kept his eyes forward and did his best to not look at Ashton. It was probably once or twice he failed, but he noticed Ashton tugging at the scarf every once in a while. The room was rather warm, and Luke felt bad Ashton had to wear the scarf to cover up the marks he had caused.

Even when the class was given time at the end to work on homework, Ashton didn't even turn to look at Luke at all. Luke sighed and decided to just give Ashton space and let him be. He snuck out his phone and sent a message to Michael, asking if he was okay, since he didn't show to class and was most likely still in the nurse's office.

As he sent the message, he pocketed his phone and subconsciously looked in Ashton's direction, catching the shorter boy looking at him for a second before Ashton quickly turned away and stared down in his notes.

Luke tilted his head to the side, but returned to doing homework. He felt his phone vibrate, but ignored it since it was just Michael. Right now he had other things in his mind--most of them related to Ashton, like their talk earlier.

Luke wished he knew what Ashton was thinking. Perhaps things would be so much easier for him and he wouldn't be so confused as he was now.

He wondered if he would ever know what was going on through Ashton's mind.

If only he knew.


End file.
